


Legacies II: The Dark Siphoner

by gmstudioss



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Betrayal, Cousins, Death, Drinking, Extra Characters, F/F, F/M, Family, Friendship, Funny, Gay Male Character, Kissing, M/M, Partying, Romantic Realtionships - Freeform, Salvatore Boarding School for the Young & Gifted (Vampire Diaries), Sex, Sisters, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, smoking weed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:48:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 126,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25944616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gmstudioss/pseuds/gmstudioss
Summary: In an alternate universe, things go down a little differently at the Salvatore School. This universe has new villains, new heroes, extra students, & different stories. What could happen in this universe? We'll just have to wait & see.After Naomi almost killed MG the students of the Salvatore School finished the rest of their year, rolled into summer, & after that into a new school year. However, after the school year's start, an old face comes back to haunt the students & wreak havoc. After the familiar face starts their master plan a new villain rolls into the Salvatore School & the students must band together to win. Will the student body be able to succeed? Or will they crack under pressure?
Relationships: Landon Kirby & Hope Mikaelson, Landon Kirby & Josie Saltzman, Landon Kirby/Hope Mikaelson, Landon Kirby/Josie Saltzman, Lizzie Saltzman & Sebastian, Lizzie Saltzman/Sebastian
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	1. Are You Not Having Any Fun At All?

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! :) 
> 
> Before reading this story I highly suggest you read part 1 of the series.
> 
> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

The sky was pitch black with only the moon shining in the sky as the only light above the dark street that Naomi walked on. Naomi looked like a shadow as she walked on the road, towards seemingly nothing. Naomi froze, she heard something in the distance and she knew what she had to do. Naomi gracefully fell to the ground and waited, and waited, and waited. A car soon pulled up and the headlights of the vehicle showed Naomi with her eyes closed and her mouth slightly open to sell the illusion of her being hurt. An older lady with brown hair leaped out of the car and frantically walked over to Naomi.

"Are you all right?" the lady bent down to the vampire, "Was there an accident? Where are you hurt? Are you in pain?"

Naomi opened her eyes. The vampire's motion was sudden and gave the lady a scare.

"I feel nothing." Naomi monotones emotionlessly.

"I have a first-aid kit in my car. Try not to move. I'll call for help." the lady instructed.

The brown-haired lady ran to the back of her car and opened the trunk. The lady pulled out a first-aid kit and turned to her left to see Naomi standing in front of her, they were now eye to eye and the lady noticed Naomi had no happiness, no fear, nothing.

"What are you doing?" the lady quivered.

Naomi quickly grabbed the lady's arm and ripped it off of her leaving only a shoulder. The lady let out a bloodcurdling scream at the large amounts of pain she was feeling. The white in Naomi's eyes became red and black veins appeared around her eyes as she looked at the blood and studied her work. Naomi's eyes became normal while she studied the dripping of the blood and the patterns of torn flesh from what she had done, she even noticed the bone fragments coming from the same spot. Naomi looked at the lady's eyes and listened to the screams from her, the screams seemed to have come from every depth of her throat and her eyes begged for death. Naomi searched for emotion at this moment but came up with nothing, since coming up with nothing she granted her wish as her eyes became red once again, she dropped the arm and sunk her teeth into the lady's neck feeding on every ounce of blood in her body.

* * *

**JUNE**

Spring slid into summer and the year at the Salvatore School ended. Dorian walked Pedro to the entrance of the school and pointed him to his mom and sister. Everyone else exited the Salvatore School and began going to their parents. Lizzie and Josie hugged goodbye before Lizzie got onto a school bus to go see their mother. Kaleb and MG loaded their suitcases into the back of Kaleb's dad's pick up truck. Kaleb and his dad hugged before the man walked over to MG.

"Milton." MG introduced putting his hand out for the father to shake. The man pulled MG into a hug instead of going for the handshake.

Hope and her Aunt Freya let go of a large embrace before the both of them got into Freya's car and drove off.

Chris sat at the desk in his room and looked out of the window in front of his desk at everyone leaving. Josie entered the room and Chris turned around to look at her standing in the doorway.

"My sister just left, now it's just us, Landon, and Rafael. So, what are we doing this summer?" Josie asks.

"Same thing I've been doing since May: trying to find Naomi." Chris says standing up.

"Chris. I know you miss Naomi but no one knows if she's coming back." Josie sighs, "Waiting and doing locator spell after locator spell only to fail over and over again has made you miserable. And when was the last time you left your room since she left? I know it wasn't for finals. You did them in your room."

Chris looks down and thought about Josie's words. Of course, he was miserable but he couldn't give up on his cousin. He knew she'd return one day and he couldn't doubt her or that, even with her humanity off.

"So come on, Chris. Let's try and enjoy our summer while we can." Josie smiled.

Chris looked at Josie and sighed, "I can't enjoy anything until I know Naomi's safe."

Josie let out a large sigh, she knew she couldn't force Chris into anything but she hated seeing her friend like this. But she eventually concluded that she'll just have to leave Chris alone and let him deal with himself however he does.

"I'll see you around." Josie mumbled before exiting the room.

* * *

Landon sat in the library researching things about being a phoenix when Rafael walks in. As Rafael sets his eyes on Landon he thinks he should say something but doesn't know what. The words soon come to Rafael and he walks towards Landon.

"Hey, Lan. I was wondering if we could talk." Rafael starts.

"I mean we could if you didn't kiss my girlfriend." Landon says not looking up from his book.

"Right... uh... look, that's what I wanted to talk-"

"What? Oh no." Landon cut off, "You should've thought about that before you guys kissed."

Rafael starts walking out of the library and before leaving he gives one last longing look to Landon before sadly leaving.

* * *

**A WEEK LATER**

Josie laid on her bed next to a projection of Lizzie with a foreign object in between them. The girls had been talking using the crystal that Emma gave Hope. Josie held the glowing crystal as they continued talking.

"Mom didn't tell you anything else about this thing?" Josie asked.

"Only that it's called an Ascendant, and you and I made it with Aunt Bonnie when we were five." Lizzie told.

"Does it have anything to do with the Merge?"

"I don't know. She's being cagey about it. I-" The projection failed and Lizzie stopped talking as she disappeared.

Josie sighs and stretches her arm outwards with the crystal still in her grasp. The crystal glows and Josie's hand returns to her abdomen, she turns her head to her sister and listens as she speaks.

"Sorry. Mom almost busted me." Lizzie apologized.

"You know, we can FaceChat like normal people." Josie says as she gets off the bed and walks over to her dresser and begins looking through her earrings.

Lizzie sits up, "We aren't normal. And we need to keep our magic sharp over the summer."

"How's therapy going?"

"Fine. There is this sexy Swedish guy whose session is after me on Tuesdays. I think he's Swedish. Maybe Polish. Anyways, it doesn't matter. He is hot and crazy, and the language barrier will make it impossible for us to communicate." Lizzie lays back on the bed and sighs, "Just how I like it."

"You should work on that."

"This is such a pretty necklace." Lizzie mumbles. The blonde-haired girl pulls a gold pendant with a rose quartz crystal at the end of it to her eyes and puts all of her attention on the necklace

"Lizzie?" Josie questions.

"Oh. Right. I'll add it to the list of broken pieces to glue together." Lizzie sits back up and holds herself up by her forearms, "What about you? Any hot summer dates?"

"Dad's been, like, my life plus-one ever since he was fired for the attacks on the school. I honestly think he's going through a midlife crisis."

"Hair growth?"

"Bushy."

"Lady prospects?"

"Lacking."

Lizzie grunts disgusted by her father and sits up with her back straight and her legs bent to the side of her.

"Are you not having any fun at all?"

Josie looks to her sister. Her expression answered the question a thousand times over: she wasn't having any fun. But, she knew if she were to do something for herself that'd entail abandoning her father and she couldn't do that. Not when he needs her most.

"What about Wee Willie Winkle?" Lizzie queries promiscuously.

"Landon's been keeping to himself mostly. I mean, I don't blame him. His brother did cheat on him with his girlfriend so he has a right to be angry. Plus, that's Hope's ex I'd never do that to her."

"Okay. Do you and Chris ever talk? I know he stayed behind."

"No, he's still trying to find Naomi."

"Ugh. He's been doing that since May and he's found nothing. Will, he ever give up?"

"Lizzie you know you'd do the same thing for me."

"You're right... But, you don't talk to anyone outside of Dad?"

Josie shakes her head.

"So ditch it all and come to Europe." Lizzie offers.

"I can't. I don't want to leave Dad alone." Josie starts walking towards Lizzie, "I'm honestly kind of worried he's gonna go out and buy a tiny red car."

Josie and Lizzie lay on the bed facing each other.

"I thought we were taking strides to be less codependent." Lizzie says.

"We are." Josie agrees, "But there's codependent and then there's leaving Dad with his alarming mustache growth."

"Oh, gross."

"Yeah."

The twins laugh.

* * *

As the sun blares Alaric pulls up to the school gates in his black car. He rolls down his window and lets out a large sigh as he thinks about all the memories the school brought him and how he'll never again have those. Before Alaric can get too deep into his thoughts he sticks his arm out the car and presses the buzzer to be allowed access to the school. Dorian comes over the small speaker.

"Can I help you?" he asks.

"It's me, Dorian."

A buzzing sound drowns out all of the noises coming from the different birds and bugs outside as the gate opens.

Later, Alaric sits on a desk in the science lab, a box in his hands. Dorian stands across from Alaric looking at him as though he's a ghost.

"So how is the headmaster search going?" Alaric asks hurt.

"Caroline's narrowing it down." Dorian quickly answers.

Alaric stands up, "I appreciate you loaning me this stuff. I'm headed to Georgia tomorrow. I'm gonna go check up on the Malivore pit, you know, make sure it hasn't unfrozen."

Dorian continues quickly putting away certain things in the classroom and ignoring Alaric. As Alaric looks at Dorian he feels a sense of sorrow as he remembers what he did.

* * *

**TOWARDS THE END OF SCHOOL**

Alaric stands on his podium looking at a sea of eyes as students all sit in the auditorium. Some students restless, some angry, some asleep. Still, Alaric knew what he had to say.

"Hello, students. I know you all don't want to be here so I'll keep this short." Alaric clears his throat, "Due to the deaths, attacks, and other antics at the school both parents and the sheriff both think it's best that I resign as your headmaster. But, I believe everyone has a voice and an opinion so I'm putting it to a vote. So, the staff and your student leaders will vote if I stay or not. I hope you all make the right choice."

* * *

**PRESENT DAY**

Alaric sighs and turns around setting the box on the same desk he was sitting on. He turns back to Dorian who has still said nothing.

"I know I may have gotten heated over the vote." Alaric breaks the silence.

"You did." Dorian nods.

"Yeah, okay, I probably overreacted."

"You may have."

"Well, I just wasn't expecting that you'd keep your vote a secret."

"It was a secret ballot, Ric."

"Yeah. Of course. But between you, Josie, Kaleb, and Jed voting, I'm still wondering how three to one happened. Yeah, I just assumed I could count on your vote."

"Good luck, Ric. I hope you find what you're looking for."

Alaric shoots Dorian one last sad look before exiting the office.

Later, Alaric finishes putting the last of his stuff into his car and shuts the door. As the former headmaster is about to climb into his car Landon walks up to him wearing a red short-sleeved hoodie.

"Dr. Saltzman. Long time no see." Landon smiles.

"Hey, how are you?" Alaric questions.

"Uh... fine I guess. I haven't had anyone to talk to all summer. Me and Raf aren't talking, Chris is still locked up in his room, and me and Josie aren't that close ."

"What about Hope?"

"Um... she went to New Orleans for the summer and we... broke up."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"We just weren't right for each other."

"Okay... what happened with Raf?"

"That's unimportant. We just aren't talking."

"Well, I'm sorry, Landon."

"It's fine. At least now I know who my real friends are."

"Okay. I have to head out but it was nice catching up. Say hi to Josie for me."

"Alright. Bye." Landon waves before walking past him.

Alaric opens his car door and climbs into his vehicle.

* * *

It was a hot summer day, Kaleb and MG stood on the roof of an apartment in Atlanta. Kaleb slaps an uncooked steak on the grill.

"Yes." Kaleb says as the meat begins to sizzle, "Sing to me, baby. That's what I like to hear. Sing to me like a vamp without his Daylight Ring on a hot Georgia summer day."

While Kaleb coos at the food, MG leans over the balcony and looks at the passing cars and the pedestrians walking. As MG looked out he thought about his family. He thought about how he can never go back, how he can never see them again. MG thought about how he'd be spending this summer if he wasn't a vampire, about how if he was just human, normal, he'd be able to see them.

"You're supposed to be taking notes." Kaleb called pulling MG out of his thoughts.

MG gave Kaleb silence for a little while before he turned to look at him.

"Didn't seem necessary with you narrating the whole deal." MG points out.

"Narration goes one way. What you heard was a conversation."

"With your meat?"

"Meat's got a name, okay, same as you. This is Gertrude."

MG raises an eyebrow and walks towards Kaleb.

"My crazy uncle Earl, he owns a farm outside the city." Kaleb continued, "I was there the day she was born."

"That's dark, dude."

"It's the circle of life, man. All-natural. What ain't natural" Kaleb takes the meat off the grill and looks at MG, "is you over there poutin'."

"If you say so."

"No, I know so. Look, you're about to have the best summer of your life. All right?"

"I appreciate everything that you're doing for me, Kaleb. I do. But it doesn't change the fact that I miss my family, even if they suck. Or that I almost died and then school ended just when Lizzie Saltzman started talking to me."

"We don't say that name, okay? Even if we're talking about what Naomi did to you don't fix your mouth to say Li-- none of that. Okay? It's like I was saying before," Kaleb wraps an arm around MG and they start walking towards the edge of the roof, "I'm your family now. Which means that my family is your family, too."

Kaleb removes his arm from MG and steps on a higher part of the roof before turning around and looking down at MG.

"Which also means that you must start practicing for the cook-off that happens on this rooftop every Fourth of July. Because this year, we're beating my crazy-ass uncle at his own game. 'Ight?"

MG laughs, "Okay."

"Okay."

Kaleb bends down and opens up the cooler. The vampire takes out two jars filled with blood and hands one to MG.

"Now you take some fresh animal blood." Kaleb starts walking towards the edge of the fenced-in roof with MG following, "Take in this gorgeous view."

The boys look out at the sunset in front of them.

"Take a deep breath." Kaleb instructs.

MG and Kaleb largely inhale before letting out a deep exhales.

"Yeah." Kaleb sighs.

"Best summer of our lives." MG declares.

"Yeah, bro."

The vampires drink the blood out of their jars.

"Oh, that's straight Gertrude right there."

MG has no words.

"Yeah, yeah, that-that's her."

* * *

**IN NEW ORLEANS**

Hope sits on her bed scrolling her phone. As she scrolls she finds herself going deeper and deeper down both a rabbit hole of thoughts and that rabbit hole is social media. Before Hope can go any deeper Marcel appears in her doorway.

"Hey." Marcel greets.

"Hey." Hope sighs.

"Davina said dinner will be ready soon."

"Cool."

Marcel looks at Hope as she continues to scroll through her phone. He thinks of himself as someone Hope can talk to and someone that Hope would tell things to so he was dismayed to know something was wrong with Hope but not hear it from her mouth.

"Hey, uh, if there's anything you need to talk about you know you can talk to me." Marcel offered.

"Okay." Hope stated.

A bit of silence filled the room before Marcel fully entered the room and sat on a chair next to the door.

"Okay, Hope." Marcel closes the door, "I've tried to respect your privacy by not asking this but what's wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"There's something wrong you've been out of it the whole summer."

Hope sighs and puts down her phone, "I..." she sighs, "I cheated on Landon."

"What? Why?"

"I was just- I don't know and now, I feel... depressed. I feel like I hurt him, yes, but I also feel like I hurt myself and Rafael."

"Well have you talked to him about it?"

"He and I haven't talked since some psychopath tried to kill us using her daughter."

"What?!"

"Oh. Yeah, a lot of things happened last year but here's the rundown: two students enrolled into our school, one of them was-her name was Amelia-the daughter of this cult leader named Victoria who wanted a world of only witches because back in like eighteen-ninety-five my dad killed her husband; also, she wanted to kill me but I can't be killed; she also had her daughter possess my frienemy Lizzie to stab my best friend Chris with a cursed knife so he can't be healed."

"Hope! Why didn't you call me down there to come and fight you know I'd do it."

"Because we got it. Besides, Lizzie's fine, the cult is gone, Chris is healing fine, and Amelia is supposed to be working at the school this year."

"Well, I'm glad you're safe but next time call me and I'll be there."

"Okay, Marcel."

The pair share a smile before Davina enters the room.

"Dinner's ready."

* * *

Chris walks through the halls of the Salvatore School with a plethora of books in his hands. As he was walking he saw Rafael coming towards him. Chris didn't want to talk to anyone but he knew if he ignored Rafael and walked past him it'd be rude and from what Chris has heard, Landon has been rude enough to Rafael. After Chris made up his mind about talking to Rafael he stopped and let Rafael approach him. The wolf walked forward a little more and stopped in front of Chris.

"Hey, Raf." Chris greeted.

"Hey. You stayed?" Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, where else would I go?"

"Don't you have an uncle or something?"

"We do, but, we never talk to him, and besides, why would I leave if there's a chance of Naomi coming back?"

"Oh... you're still on that?"

"Yeah, she's my cousin. You'd do the same for Landon."

"Right. I don't think he'd say the same, though."

"Oh yeah, I heard about what had been going on. How do you feel?"

"I feel like I screwed up and I want to fix, but... I don't think he wants anything fixed."

Chris slips his books under his arms, "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. How's your scar?"

"It's healing fine but it can't be provoked. Anything too severe could open it right back up."

"Glad to hear it's getting better."

"Yeah. How's your lunar psychosis thing?"

"Better but I don't know... I was talking to Emma but she left last year just like Dr. Saltzman did so I'm supposed to be talking to Amelia about it since she'll be the new counselor."

"Damn."

"I know."

A silence settled between them and Chris knew the conversation was over. The witch let out a quick "Well, bye." Before walking past Rafael. 

Before Chris could get too far Rafael turned around, "Where are you headed?" he asks.

Chris turns around, "I'm going to try a locator spell to find Naomi."

"Oh. Well, I'm not doing anything so I could come with and help in any way possible."

Chris thought about the wolf's offer. Half of him would enjoy the company but the other didn't want anyone around. Chris ultimately realized that Rafael was lonely just like he was and the loneliness Chris had was eating away at his mental health, he couldn't subject someone else to that so he said, "Sure."

* * *

Naomi walked into a bar. The vampire looked around at the life in the room, she thought about how every single person in that room didn't know a murderer had just stepped into the public place. 'It's crazy.' Naomi thought, 'No one knows.' her thoughts concluded. Naomi walked up to the bar where the man in a uniform stood behind making drinks. Naomi sat at the bar.

"Two shots of Tequila." Naomi requests.

"You look a little young to be ordering Tequila. Let me see some ID." the bartender states.

Naomi groans and looks into the eyes of the worker.

"Get me two shots of Tequila." Naomi tries to compel.

"No. Let me see some ID."

Naomi breaks from her gaze and begins to think. The vampire soon realizes she must be close enough to Mystic Falls for vervain to be in the bartender. Naomi thinks for a little longer and she soon realizes what she has to do.

"Hey, I'm gonna call the cops if you don't show me-"

Before the bartender can curl his lips to form another word Naomi chops the man's head off with her hand. Everyone in the bar stood up and began to scream as the headless body fell over with the head following in its place. Naomi turned around and stood up with blood all over her face.

"No witnesses." Naomi states.

Naomi's eyes become bloodshot red and she hisses before speeding over to a random person in the bar.

Soon, Naomi walked out of the bar covered in blood. As she walked she thought about how she massacred everyone in that bar. The screams, the blood, the fear. All of it was just so... boring. 'Boring?' Naomi thought to herself before she realized that she's getting tired of murdering countless people. Naomi rolls her eyes and continues walking.

* * *

**JULY**

Landon pushes a beach chair next to another beach chair and looks around at his accomplishments. He looks at the white sheet he hung to two trees across from the two chairs and a projector that sat perched in a tree. Landon's set up was right outside the Old Mill. As Landon admired his work he heard footsteps approaching, the phoenix turned around to see Rafael standing across from him.

"Uh... you wanted me to come here?" Rafael questions.

"Yeah!" Landon holds his arms out presenting the scene, "Ta-Da!"

Rafael raises an eyebrow.

Landon walks a little closer to Rafael, "I made us a little area to watch movies. I wanted to make amends for being a dick all summer."

"Thanks, Lan... but no thanks."

Landon's excited smile drops right into a frown at Rafael's answer.

"But Raf-"

"No. You've ignored me all summer, you've told me off every chance you've gotten, I've even had to resort to talking to Chris every day cause you don't wanna talk to me and you wanna be friends? No."

"Rafael, I'm sorry."

Rafael takes step towards Landon and his eyes glow a bright yellow.

"Sorry? You made me hate myself all summer which I deserve but you continue to talk down on me even though you're moving on."

Rafael's voice became a bit of an angry growl and Landon stepped back in fear. Rafael's eyes became normal and he saw the fear in his brother's eyes. Rafael turned around and ran off. leaving Landon with nothing but his guilt.

* * *

Josie and Alaric walked through the town square. As they walked they passed performers getting ready for the fourth of July party that night.

"I should've known what was going on last year. I mean, you got buried that should've been a wake-up call." Alaric sighs.

"It's fine, Dad. You were busy being the headmaster and raising two daughters. It's hard. I get it." Josie excuses.

"No. It's all my fault. No wonder I lost my job."

Josie looks off to the side, part of her agreed with her father but she could never say that out loud. Before Alaric could say anything else, Josie decided to change the subject.

"So, Dad, I was actually hoping we could talk about the Ascendant." 

Alaric froze at what Josie said. He was looking for an excuse, any excuse to not talk about this.

Josie looked at her father, "What it has to do with the Merge."

Alaric peers forward to see Landon sitting at a table alone.

"Hey, is that Landon?" Alaric asks pointing in his direction.

Before Josie can even attempt to speak Alaric has already walked off to go sit next to Landon. Josie rolls her eyes and follows. Soon, Josie and Alaric are sitting across from Landon who just told them what happened with Rafael that day.

"Since earlier today I've been trying to figure out ways to help him with his lunar psychosis so we can talk again but I can't find anything. I keep hitting a dead end." Landon explains.

"Join the club." Josie quipped looking her dad.

"Hey!" Alaric seethed.

Josie looked to Landon, "Landon, can you ask my dad why he won't give me answers to my very simple questions on how my sister and I can survive past the age of 22?"

"That's because your dad doesn't have any answers he's able to give you." Alaric said looking at Josie.

Josie looked to her father, "Able to or willing?"

"Look, there is nothing about the Ascendant you need to know."

"Then why do you flinch every time I bring it up?"

"Because it has nothing to do with the Merge, Josette, so let's just drop it, okay?"

Josie looks down and Alaric turns back to see Landon darting his eyes around awkwardly. Landon began to get antsy and things got awkward so he decided to leave.

"I'm gonna head back to campus." Landon announced standing up.

"Whoa. What about the fireworks?" Alaric questioned.

"Oh, I don't care about the fireworks. Besides, isn't this country's independence based off like lies? I don't want to be apart of that."

"I'll come with you." Josie states quickly while standing up, "I'm suddenly not in the mood to celebrate anything, much less independence."

Alaric watches with no words as Landon and Josie walk off.

* * *

The sun shown upon MG as he happily grilled steak in Atlanta.

"Okay, Daisy, today's the big day, so think tender thoughts. Embrace this dry rub, because one with it, and thanks for, like dying for us and stuff, you know?" MG states.

"You talking to your meat?" the dark skin girl asks.

MG turns to see a beautiful dark skin girl with her hair braided back standing with a basket in her arms.

"Nah, that'd be weird right?" MG responds.

"Be weird if you didn't. A great steak's like a plant." the girl starts walking over to MG, "You love on it and it shows." 

The girl comes to a stop in front of MG.

MG stops grilling to face the girl, "What should I say?"

"Well, you can start by telling me your name."

"Milton."

The girl laughs, "Your daddy hate your or something?"

"Not until recently, but my friends call me MG."

"Huh. Then it's nice to meet you, Milton."

MG smiles as he looks at the girl. For a moment all of his troubles disappear as he looks at her, Lizzie, his family, Naomi it all vanished.

"It's time to flip Daisy. You can tell by the color of the smoke, like when they're electing the new pope." the girl walks away.

"Okay. All right." MG says smiling while flipping the meat.

* * *

The serene July night is interrupted as Fire erupts from the water and a wet Landon climbs onto the dock. When he looks up he sees an angry Josie with her arms crossed.

"I changed my mind about the fireworks." Josie fumed.

Landon climbed out of the water, "It's not a big deal."

"Who do you think you're talking to? My sister is the queen of self-harm. I know it when I see it."

Landon begins putting on his shoes, "I'm not harming myself because I can't be harmed. That's the point."

"Where, in any of your phoenix research, does it say that the number of times that you can resurrect is infinite?"

Landon stands up.

"Where does it say it isn't?" Landon questions before walks past Josie.

"Hurting yourself doesn't make anything better. It never does." Josie says following Landon.

Landon stops and turns around, "You're right. Maybe I should focus on other people's problems instead of my own."

"That's not what I'm doing."

"That's a lie."

"How do you know?"

"Because when you lie as often as I used to, you develop a gut feeling. I just know."

"Okay. What are we supposed to do?"

"You tell me. Because to be honest with you, I'm kind of at a loss."

The pair look into each other's eyes for a brief moment. It was strange. They never even talked much less shared a gaze on each other like this. Josie concludes.

"Maybe we should both stop worrying so much about dying. Start living a little?"

* * *

In Atlanta, the party is in full swing as people danced, laughed, and had fun on the roof. Two people not having fun, however, were MG and Kaleb who stood next to each other. Kaleb anxiously looked around hoping someone would vote for his foo, MG looked to his friend.

"Relax, Special K. It's just a barbecue." MG reassures.

"Now, look here, I stood by you when I thought you murdered one of our friends." Kaleb says bluntly.

"Okay."

"But you say something stupid like that again, we ain't brothers, man."

"Okay."

Kaleb watched as a man put a ticket in his uncle Earl's cup.

"Damn. Another vote for my creepy-ass uncle." Kaleb said.

"I'm Earl." Earl says standing behind Kaleb and MG.

The boys turn around to face Earl.

"Milton, Milton Greasley."

MG sticks out his hand to shake Earl's hand.

"That's right. I heard about you." Earl says shaking MG's hand.

"Good things I hope."

"Yeah, bloodsucker, all good." Earl says staring at MG with a serious look but ultimately laughs.

"You got his ass." Kaleb jokes.

"Hey, I tried your meat." Earl says.

"Yeah?"

"Solid second place. See you on the podium."

"Yeah but this time you'll be looking up."

Earl walks away.

"Do you really think we can win?" MG asks.

"Hell no, man." Kaleb smiles, "I know we can. It's like I've been saying: best summer ever."

"Yes, sir. Um. about that, I may have found someone."

"That's what's up. She here?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, which one?"

"Uh, orange top." MG says pointing to the girl from earlier.

The girl puts a ticket in Kaleb and MG's cup.

"Boom. Best summer..." MG moves in front of Kaleb to give him a high-five.

"Never. You're talking about Kym?"

"Is-is that her, is that her name?"

"MG are you kidding me? I've told you a million stories about Kym."

"Kym. I... Your sister?" MG says looking back at Kym "Th-The one who was away, building houses for homeless people?"

Kaleb nods.

"And without all of that..."

Kaleb stops MG's rambling by putting his hand on his shoulder.

"Look, man, have all the summer fun you want. Just don't be having it with her." Kaleb clarifies then walking away leaving MG frustrated.

* * *

**AUGUST**

After Josie and Landon had their talk they began to spend a lot of time together. The days became weeks and the weeks became months as they did things like play chess, watch movies at the Old Mill, play music, and write songs together at the dock.

"Songwriting? Stop. I can't take it anymore." Lizzie gags.

It was a beautiful summer day Josie paced around while a projection of Lizzie sat against a tree across from her.

"Somewhere in Belgium, Penelope Park's black heart just exploded. You and Gizmo the Gremlin?" Lizzie sighs disappointed in her sister.

"Actually, Gizmo's a Mogwai." Josie corrects.

"Oh, God. He's got, you, speaking nerd."

"Relax. We're just friends."

"You are not friends. You're a montage. And didn't you say you wouldn't do that to Hope?"

"I know but like I said we're just friends and It's been... fun. It's been, like, actual fun."

"You know what's actual-actual fun? Mom and I taking the speed train to Rome for the weekend. So get your ass across the pond."

"Love you." Josie smiles before putting her hand up and disconnecting the call using the crystal in her hand.

* * *

Rafael sits on a couch in the common area. Chris said he'd hang out with him today when he found his search for Naomi inconclusive so Rafael sat and waited for Chris to appear. While Rafael was looking around he saw Landon walking towards him and he let out a sigh. Landon walked up to Rafael.

"Hey, Raf. Did you maybe wanna hang out today? We could catch up on the summer, or something." Landon offered.

"Uh, me and Chris were gonna hang out today." Rafael said before standing up.

"Oh okay. We could all hang out. We could even invite Josie if you wanted. It'd be like, a group outing."

"Look, Lan, I know you want to talk again and be brothers like we used to but we can't. This lunar psychosis stuff is getting worse and it's getting harder to be around people, and if there's anyone I don't want to hurt it's you. Even if you are a phoenix, I don't like causing you pain. I think I've done enough of that. I'm sorry."

Rafael once again walked passed Landon leaving him with nothing but his thoughts.

* * *

A couple of days later, Landon and Josie are walking through the Old Mill. They hadn't seen Rafael in days and Landon was beginning to get worried. Very worried.

"I don't talk to him often but I see him around the school all the time and I haven't seen him for three days. And I know he doesn't leave the school cause Chris doesn't leave the school and those two are like best friends now." Landon explained obviously panicked.

"That doesn't mean something happened. Raf has free-will. His life doesn't revolve around how much you see him." Josie reasoned.

"But every day, Josie, for months, and it's been three days, and there aren't many places he can be like I said he doesn't leave the school." Landon walks past Josie, "Maybe I am just assuming the worst, but the worst is usually what happens. And it's bad enough that we don't talk but he's ditched his phone so I have no way to reach him."

Landon turns back to Josie and she sees the panic in his eyes. Josie walks over to Landon and grabs both of his hands to try and provide any comfort she can.

"Landon. It's gonna be okay. We're gonna find him. I'll do a locator spell, and we're gonna track his movements, okay?"

Josie watches Landon's chest rise and fall as she listens to his heavy breaths. She knew the fear he was feeling and she knew how to help fix it.

"I'm gonna help you." Josie comforted.

Landon and Josie pulled each other into a tight embrace and as their warm bodies collided Josie could feel her cheeks getting warm at his hands on her bareback. Landon didn't know why but he felt the need to hug her a little closer than he normally would as if he had the intention of never letting her go. The two stayed quiet for a little and stayed in the moment.

"I'm gonna go see if Chris knows anything." Landon whispered in Josie's ear breaking the silence."

* * *

Chris laid on his back atop the red cover of his bed. Chris was reading through a book and hoping it'd help him get closer to finding Naomi because he had been trying all summer and had hit dead end after dead end. As Chris was beginning to lose hope in the book giving him any real answers he heard a knock on his door. Chris groans closes his book and sits up criss-cross style.

"Rafael if that's you I haven't found anything about Naomi. So, we can't hang out." Chris states.

"Uh, it's not but it's equally as important." Landon says through the door.

"Oh. Come in."

Landon opens the door and looks at Chris, "Hey, have you seen Raf?"

"Uh... not recently but a while back I told him to go on a walk."

"Why would you do that?"

"Well, he was going on and on about you and how he doesn't wanna hurt you and about how he's tired of you trying to be his friend when you already made it clear you didn't wanna talk."

"He said that?"

"Yeah."

Landon felt a little bit of sadness fall over him and he realized he had been treating Rafael terribly all summer. He knew that already but right now it just hit how badly he must've hurt him.

"So, I told him to go on a walk and clear his head and not to come back till he feels ready." Chris finished.

"Well, he's been missing for three days." Landon addressed.

"I told him to go on a walk not to go missing."

"How have you not noticed?"

"Well you see, ever since you told him off he's been hanging around me and talking to me nonstop. So, I was enjoying the alone time."

"Oh. How are you feeling about her... you know."

"Don't worry about me. Go find your brother so at least one of us can have our family back."

"Okay. If you need me I'm always here. I know losing your only family is hard."

"Yes, yes, now go."

Landon exited the room and Chris sighed. The witch put his head down and had a moment of silence before laying on his back and reading the book once again.

* * *

It was night time when Josie and Landon sat in front of a fireplace, a map between them and candles on both sides of them.

"Think of my blood like the red line crossing the map in Raiders of the Lost Ark." Josie pricked her finger, "It'll flow wherever it senses Raf. And it'll show the path"

Josie brought her finger over the map and squeezed a little blood onto it to complete the spell. Landon watched in awe of Josie's spell.

"Thank you for this." Landon spoke.

"Of course. It's honestly child's play." Josie cleaned her finger off, "It's how I used to cheat at hide-and-go-seek. Just give it a second."

"I want you to know, I wasn't trying to hurt myself. On the Fourth. I wasn't trying to, like, self-destruct or anything."

"Mm, could've fooled me."

"I don't know. Maybe it started like that, but... when I go under I feel... different. Like I'm reinventing myself. It's like a release."

"There are other ways to release, Landon. And what if you overshoot your phoenix quota?"

Landon looks into Josie's eyes. He was at a loss for words because he never thought of that. What if he did die.

"Are you happy?" Landon inquired.

"What do you mean?" Josie asked in return.

"I mean, since we started hanging out-- I mean until Raf went missing-- I think I was finally starting to get... happy-ish."

"I'm definitely happy-ish. I just don't know if I can be fully happy until I know that Lizzie and I are gonna survive past the Merge."

"Yeah. Look, I don't want to cause problems, but I think that your Dad is lying to you about the Ascendant."

"How do you know?"

"I just know..."

* * *

Josie comes back from talking with her Dad and is now pacing around with a crystal in her hand as a projection of Lizzie lays on the couch across from her.

"Dad told me everything. The Ascendant is a lock to a prison world. It's a long story, but we have an uncle that is trapped down there, and he is the only other living member of our lunatic family. And he's been through the Merge, so he's got to have answers."

Lizzie jumps up, "Well, then let's go the minute I get back."

"Lizzie, I gave the Ascendant back to Dad."

"You what? Why?"

"This guy that's trapped down there killed Jo on her wedding day with Dad. I mean, this guy murdered his twin. So, Dad said it's the last resort. And until then we should just stay away from it. So, in the meantime you should enjoy your speed trains" Josie sits on a chair behind her, "and hang out with hot Swedish guys and have your summer fun."

Lizzie shakes her head and goes to sit across from her sister, "Listen. I'm in therapy three hours a day. When I'm not with a shrink, I'm with a doctor. And when I'm not with a doctor, I'm with a healer. I'm doing everything I can to get better, like, really better. I should have told you that. I don't know why I didn't. But promise me you will make the most of the rest of this summer, okay?"

"I promise."

* * *

The gates of the Salvatore School open as Dorian tiredly drives out in his car. As he's leaving his headlights to illuminate Naomi standing in front of the car.

"Naomi?" Dorian questions.

Dorian unbuckles himself and gets out of his car but when he's out and he looks around he sees nothing except the road his car illuminates. Dorian thinks he's seeing things from being exhausted and gets back into his car. As soon as Dorian drives off Naomi super speeds to the buzzer that opens the gate. After pressing a few buttons the gate opens and Naomi walks in.

* * *

Landon sat alone outside the Old Mill watching a movie projected onto the white sheet he had hung from the trees back in June. It seemed like an eternity ago. Josie walks up and sits in the chair next to his.

"You started without me." Josie began.

"Your map worked." Landon sighed.

Landon handed the map to Josie and she saw a circle of blood around the school with a trail leading into the woods.

"He's right here. What's the problem?" Josie asks concerned.

"He was," Landon wipes his face, "but then when I came out here to find him, that appeared."

Josie looked at the line of blood leading into the woods and became saddened at the realization that Rafael had left the school instead of coming to it.

"Raf's not missing." Landon looks at the screen, "He just doesn't want to be here anymore."

Josie looked down, she didn't know what to say, she didn't know how to help. Landon stands up.

"I knew this would happen. One day he'll leave me and it'll all be my fault. I just thought I had a little bit more time with him."

Josie gathers what she needs to say and she stands up. Josie goes to face Landon and looks deeply into his eyes.

"Maybe he didn't leave you. Maybe he just needs time to himself for a while and he knew now would be perfect because he knew you had someone to make you happy... ish."

The pair look longingly at each other and it seems like it's just them on the Earth. There's a silence, a pause, not an awkward one, just a moment to admire each other; Josie admire's Landon's beautiful eyes and Landon admires Josie's face. Landon decides there's been enough admiring and he slowly slides his hand onto Josie's face. It wasn't too long before the couple's lips locked softly. After the kiss they looked at each other for a second before kissing a second time this time more passionately.

Naomi gagged as she watched Landon and Josie's hands travel each other's bodies while they passionately made out.

* * *

Chris walked through the empty town with his arms crossed.

"Damn Josie. 'Go outside. You haven't left your dorm all summer' Like go make out with Landon or something." Chris mumbles to himself.

"You'd be surprised."

Chris hears a familiar voice and he turns around to see his cousin standing in the darkness.

"Naom!" Chris beams.

"I was coming to look for you."

"You were looking for me? I've been trying to find you for three months!"

"Well, stop looking. I'm coming back."

This was the best news Chris has ever heard. He was more than ecstatic and if there was a word for that Chris didn't know what it was he just knew to see his cousin again was the best thing to ever happen to him. Chris was too happy to even ask.

"When are you coming-" Chris blinks and Naomi's gone, "back..."

* * *

A motorcycle drives by as MG loads his stuff into the back of a red pick-up truck. Kaleb walks up to him and starts putting suitcases into the truck.

"So you, uh, feel like I let you down, huh?" Kaleb inquired.

"Nah. Nah. Uh, best summer ever's a big ask." MG lied.

Kaleb faced MG, "Man, why do you always do that?"

"What?"

"Not speak your truth."

"Okay, this summer sucked. I mean, you tell me to move on, and the first time I do, you tell me I can't even talk to her."

"She's my sister, man. Just like you're my brother. I'm sorry, but I want my family tree to have branches. But I'll make it up to you if you give me a shot."

"How?"

"By getting you what you want most in the entire world. Lizzie Saltzman."

"You-you said we-we weren't supposed to speak her name."

Kaleb nods, "Uh-huh, during the summer, but that's all over with, baby boy."

Kaleb turns MG to the side, puts a hand on his shoulder, and moves his hand as if he's presenting.

"Now we set our sights on the best semester ever." Kaleb laughs and MG smiles, "Okay?"

Kaleb walks over to a bag.

"Let's finish packing." Kaleb pulls out a cow-shaped trophy, "And you should make room for this."

* * *

A couple of young adults have a lust-filled make out session in the woods.

"Oh, Tim." the girl moans.

The couple continues to make out for a little bit longer before the boy pulls away.

"Wait, do you hear that?" the boy asks.

"What?"

Before anything else can be said the boy hears a scream and feels his girlfriend ripped out from underneath him, he looks around to see nothing.

"Grace?" he asked frantically.

The boy grabs a flashlight, shines it forward to see a monster holding his girlfriend's head by her hair, except, the head wasn't accompanied by a body just blood dripping from the end of the head. The boy looked closer at the monster, he realized the monster looked very human-like; it was a girl with dark skin, full lips, and shoulder-length straight black hair. But, what he was looking at wasn't fully human as it had fangs, bloodshot eyes that spouted black veins, blood dripping from its mouth, and fangs. What he looked at also unsettled him as much as it scared him because it gave him an emotionless stare.

"Wh-What are you?" the boy stuttered.

"I'm Naomi."

Naomi super sped to the boy and his screams were the last sounds he'd ever make.

* * *

notes: I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked the opening scene. Feel free to tell us your favorite part in the comments <3

The next chapter will be out tomorrow @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)

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	2. Why Is She Here?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Summer ended and the new year at the Salvatore School began. Students walked the halls, talked, made out, **the first day** was going smoothly as intended. Josie walked down the semi-crowded hallway in her bathrobe with her head held high. Josie walks into her room to see Lizzie stretching.

"What are you doing?" Josie asks.

"Warrior two." Lizzie answers quickly.

"I thought you said yoga was karate for lazy people."

"I did, but spending the summer with Mom opened my eyes to all kinds of new experiences. Plus, since using that ascendant thingy is off the table, we agreed we'd stop worrying about all that future merge crap, right?" Lizzie queries before taking a sip of her water.

"Right."

"So, I'm all about the present." Lizzie walks past Josie and turns around dramatically, "I have decided to be permanently open to any opportunity that comes my way."

As Lizzie is talking Kaleb passes the room. As soon as Kaleb catches Lizzie's words he stops in his tracks and listens in.

"This is my semester of yes."

Kaleb hears Lizzie say before smiling and continuing his walk.

"And I am available for literally anything."

Josie sighs and looks at her sister.

* * *

Vardemus' cane clacked against the floor as he walked down the hallway. The new headmaster looked straight forward as chattering students passed him. As Vardemus walked he thought about the potential this school had and how he was going to make sure that potential was met. 

Soon, Vardemus arrived in his new (Alaric's old) office. Vardemus dusted the shelves off with his handkerchief when he finished he looked at the dirty cloth in disgust. Dorian watched as Vardemus studied the office.

"Well, this simply won't do." Vardemus commented.

_"Phantamogriphia Decorum."_

Vardemus chanted. The room changed from a depressing hobble to something livelier and full of different oddities.

"Ah, much better." Vardemus smiled, "Simple illusion spell but appearances can be important, don't you think, Mr. Williams?"

"The faculty are waiting to meet you, Professor Vardemus." Dorian states.

Vardemus chuckles and sits in the chair behind his desk, "Please. Call me Headmaster."

Dorian nods and takes in the man's request.

* * *

Landon walks through the halls of the Salvatore School. As he walked he thought about Rafael and how he's yet to find him or hear from him, he hoped he was okay. Before Landon could think too much about Rafael he began to think of Josie and how he had all of these overwhelming feelings about her, he knew they weren't love, he knew he wasn't ready for even the word love. But, Landon knew he deeply cared for Josie and she felt the same. As Landon entered the common area he stopped to see a skinny girl with short brown hair giving him a flirtatious smile. The girl turned her body towards Landon and wrote 'hey' in golden fire with her finger. After the girl walks off the words explode into small hearts.

Chris and Noah walked by and stopped as they watched the hearts slowly go away.

"That's... weird." Chris pointed out.

"What? Landon's single and she has a crush." Noah shrugs.

"Except Landon's not single."

"What?"

"Yeah, Josie told me all about it. Apparently they spent all summer together."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I'm just hoping Josie doesn't see this." 

"Why not? If they're confident in their relationship then little stuff like this shouldn't shake her."

Chris nods, "Well, let's hope she isn't around."

As if on cue the boys see someone walk away to reveal Josie looking at Landon withheld back anger in her eyes as the firework-hearts fall to the ground and disappear.

"Oh shit." Chris gasps.

"Let's get out of here." Noah states

The boys quickly walk off as Josie begins walking towards Landon. It was as if Josie was walking in slow motion as Landon admired every bit of the witch, her hair, her eyes, her skin. All of it. It wasn't long before Josie was right in front of Landon.

"Hi." Landon greeted.

"Hey. Do you know her?" Josie interrogated.

"No. I don't."

"Okay, well, are we still going to dinner tonight?"

"Yeah. We have to get the first date out of the way sometime, right?"

Josie gives Landon an awkward look and nods. Landon curls his eyebrows upward and gives Josie an apologetic look.

"That was a joke. Yes. I'm excited."

"Oh. Me, too." Josie slides her backpack to the front of her and pulls out a schedule, "Uh, do you know where your classes are?"

"Yes." Landon pulls a folded-up schedule out of his shirt pocket, "On that."

Josie looks at the paper in Landon's hand, "Oh. Good. You don't need this, then. I will... I'll see you at the assembly."

"Yeah. Okay."

"Yeah. Um... yeah."

Landon goes in for a hug while Josie goes in for a kiss causing awkwardness. The pair shuffle around a little until they finally pull each other into a strange hug.

* * *

Kaleb and MG carefully set down a towering fountain adjourned by skulls onto a wheeled surface in the dark tunnels under the school. 

"No more hiding, bruh." Kaleb stated.

"I have to wait for the timing to be right between Lizzie and me, and this stale blood is nasty, man." MG complains.

MG walks in front of the blood fountain and Kaleb pushes it deeper into the tunnels. A little bit of the blood spilled onto the floor as Kaleb pushed the object.

"Why'd we have to be the ones to get rid of Dr. Saltzman's creepy skull fountain?" MG griped.

"Just breathe through your mouth. And, dude, the time is now, okay? She's having a year of yes. So get in there, be one of those yeses."

"I mean, I... I guess I could ask her on, like, a study date or something."

"Yeah. Ooh," Kaleb stops pushing, "the Old Mill."

"Why there?"

"Are you for real? You never heard of 'Old Mill and chill'?"

MG shakes his head, "No."

Kaleb laughs, "Well, look, you ask her on a study date there, I promise you she'll know what's up."

MG takes in a deep breath, "Okay."

MG begins gagging violently as if he could vomit at any second.

"Oh, damn. What-what are you doing?"

"I breathed out of my nose."

"I specifically told you not to do that and you did that. Let's go... come on, let's go."

* * *

"Hello, students."

Vardemus stood on his podium in front of a sea of students all sitting in their seats patiently awaiting his next words. Next to Vardemus was the new sheriff.

"Before I get into my speech Sheriff Mac has some announcements." Vardemus states.

Headmaster Vardemus moves over to allow the Sheriff to step up to the podium and begin speaking.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Sheriff Mac. I'm here because I'm going around telling all of the local high schools to be careful. There's been a slew of brutal murders in the area and-"

"Oh, that'd be me." a voice cut off the Sheriff.

Everyone turned and looked up to see Naomi standing at the top of the stairs smiling with her arms crossed.

* * *

Naomi stood across from Vardemus in his office with her hand resting on one of the chairs in front of his desk. Vardemus sat behind his desk looking up at Naomi.

"Ms. Coleman. You cannot say things of that sort in front of the humans. The Sheriff thinks we're a normal preparatory school and we must maintain that image." Vardemus scolded.

"I compelled her to forget so there's nothing to worry about." Naomi stated emotionless.

"Okay. Now," Vardemus pulls out a file and begins flipping through pages, "Ms. Coleman I hear you've tried to kill a student. Mr. Milton Greasley."

"Yes."

"And you've disappeared all summer."

"Absolutely."

"Ms. Coleman do you not feel any remorse for your actions?"

"No. Besides, I did worse over the summer."

"Ms. Coleman I-"

"Her humanity's off, Headmaster Vardemus." a boy said from behind.

Naomi turned around to see Chris and Hope standing in the doorway.

"Ah, baby cousin. Just who I wanted to see. I can't say the same for Hope... why is she here?" Naomi raised an eyebrow.

"I'm here just in case you try anything." Hope remarked.

"Oh, I'd never do anything to hurt that witch." Naomi plasters on a smile, "Actually, that's what I came here to talk about. Over the summer I killed hundreds of people."

Everyone in the room felt shivers fly down their spines. Half of the fear came from the shock of Naomi's atrocities but also it was how she said it with no guilt, sadness, remorse, nothing. Naomi continued talking as if what she said was an everyday thing. Naomi noticed everyone's expression and laughed.

"You all are so scary." Naomi's face became a fake smile, "Anyways, killing people is getting boring. I mean, I don't want to turn my humanity on but I'm also exhausted of ripping heads and eating hearts so, I have a deal. If I can graduate school without my humanity I won't kill anyone and I'll turn it on when I'm free of this school. But, if anyone tries to turn my humanity on..."

Naomi's physical and charming demeanor suddenly became a cold expression devoid of feeling.

"I'll kill everyone in sight." Naomi said coldly.

* * *

"So wait." Lizzie started, "Naomi is back?"

Hope, Landon, Josie, Lizzie, Kaleb, and MG all sat together in the common area with Kaleb and MG on either side of Hope, Lizzie next to Kaleb, and Josie and Landon next to each other across from Hope. Hope had told everyone about what Naomi said just minutes before.

"Yep." Hope nodded.

"And she expects to finish out high school with no humanity?" Josie asks.

"Yeah." Hope answers.

"Please don't tell me you took that deal." Kaleb pleads angrily.

Hope looks to Kaleb and scrunches her face. Hope's expression answered Kaleb's question.

"No. No! You did not." Kaleb scowls.

"We had to. Where else would she go?" Hope questions.

"She has an uncle."

"Chris says they never talk to him."

"Okay there are other options. Throw her ass out."

"No. Dr. Saltzman wouldn't want that."

"Well, Dr. Saltzman isn't here."

"Still. Besides, we have it under control, Vardemus is gonna keep an eye on her and I'll make sure she doesn't do anything crazy."

"You better."

"Why are you so against her staying here?" Landon asks Kaleb.

"Because you saw what she did to MG last year. I don't want a repeat of that. Also, I'm the leader of the vamps anything she does reflects on us but mostly me." Kaleb ranted.

"Well, I think we should just trust her. Besides, she normally keeps her word having no emotions shouldn't change that." Landon reasoned.

Josie turns to Landon, "Didn't she, like, kidnap you last year?"

Landon looks at Josie, "I said normally."

Josie and Landon share a laugh, except it wasn't a normal type of laugh, the couple laughed as if they were the only two people in the entire world. Hope watched the pair laugh with an eyebrow raised 'What's going on with them?' Hope thought. Before Hope could speculate any further MG leaned toward her.

"Do you know where Naomi is now?" MG inquired.

* * *

Naomi is walking through the hallways of the Salvatore School alone when she is stopped by Chris strolling up to her with a big smile on his face.

"Hey, Naomi." Chris greeted.

"Hello." Naomi looked at him blankly.

"I was just thinking-"

"Uh, just stop."

It was as if Chris hadn't heard Naomi's words cause he extended his arms and leaned in to pull Naomi into a big embrace. As Chris was coming towards her Naomi took a step back avoiding her cousin's hug.

"You see, I've recently taken a stance against human contact." Naomi lied.

"What?" Chris blinked.

"I don't want to hug you."

"Oh... uh... okay..."

"Alright, bye."

Before Chris can say goodbye Naomi pushes past him and Chris watches as his only family walks down the hallway away from him.

* * *

The sun shined through the windows as Chris and Xavier sat in the cafeteria eating lunch. Chris had been ranting about what happened with Naomi earlier that day and Xavier was beginning to get annoyed he didn't want to hear about anything that had to do with his ex.

"And it was just... super weird." Chris confided.

"Okay, Chris. I get your struggle but to be honest I don't want hear about her." Xavier reminded.

"Oh. Okay."

Before Chris could change the topic the boys saw someone sit across them. From what Chris could make out the boy had light skin, short brown hair, and an athletic build. The look of the boy was so familiar he found himself staring at him for a little while.

"Um, the wolves don't sit over here." Xavier says to the boy.

"And the vamps don't sit over here either." the boy mocks.

"Uh, it's okay you guys can both sit with me and the witches. I know that both the vamps and wolves can be annoying sometimes."

A wave of silence washes over the boys.

"Didn't you hang with Jed last year?" the boy says breaking the silence.

"Oh, I knew I had seen you around." Chris says looking at the boy in the eyes.

"Yeah. I'm Myles Garcia."

"Chris Coleman. This is Xavier... I don't have permission to disclose his last name."

Myles laughs, "Yeah, you probably shouldn't tell all you and your friend's information to someone you just met. Especially after the events of last year."

"Yeah, last year was crazy."

"Seriously. Wait... didn't they like kidnap you or something?"

"Yep."

"No way! I knew I recognized you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Just a bit beaten up,"

"Well that's good."

"Yeah. But, what were you doing out here?"

"Oh. You said it yourself, the wolves can get annoying. You know, all the toxic masculinity and constant competitions."

Xavier listened as the two boys continued talking. They talked for a few more minutes but in those few minutes they conversed like they had know each other for years and Xavier had never seen Chris hit it off with anybody like that other than London. Soon, the conversation concluded and Myles got up and left.

"He was nice. Right?" Chris queried, he looked over to see that Xavier was no longer there.

* * *

Lizzie sat on the steps of the auditorium with her friends all around her. They were all laughing when a girl with short brown hair approached them.

"Hey, Lizzie. We're gonna cast a persuasion spell to stop Tara from getting a pixie cut. Coming?" The girl invited Lizzie.

"Yes." Lizzie nodded and stood up.

MG watches Lizzie from the railing as she begins to walk down the stairs runs to follow her.

"Uh, hey, Lizzie." MG called out.

Lizzie turns around to see MG face to face with her, "Hey Milton."

"Hi. Um, would you want to go on a study date later with me?"

Lizzie's eyes darted around the room as she looked for an excuse to say no. However, Lizzie found nothing so she was force to say,

"Yes."

MG couldn't believe Lizzie said yes to going on a date with him, he was ecstatic, but he kept it all in.

"At the Old Mill?" MG asked calmly.

"Uh, yes?"

"2:00?"

"All right."

"All right."

Lizzie turns around and walks away with a panicked look on her face. Once Lizzie is out of sight MG does a little victory dance.

"So you finally asked her out." a familiar voice says proudly.

MG's face drops and he immediately freezes at the voice. He slowly turns around to see Naomi standing at the top of the stairs.

"What do you want, Naomi?" MG questions.

"I just wanted to say hi." Naomi answers.

"Well, you tried to kill me so, excuse me for saying this but, I don't want to be associated with you."

Naomi watches as MG turns and leaves the auditorium.

"Okay." Naomi states emotionless.

* * *

"How does the existence of dragons and dryads and phoenixes change what we know about magical biology?" Vardemus asks.

The students sit two-to-a-seat in class with Vardemus at the front of the class teaching. Josie and Landon sat across from Jed, sitting behind Jed was Naomi who looked around the classroom hopefully to find something more interesting.

"It could be the discovery of a lifetime." Vardemus continues.

"He is such a pompous ass." Josie chuckles.

"At least he hasn't let in a killer." Jed whispers to them.

"He let Naomi in this morning and-"

Before Josie could continue to argue Landon put a hand up to stop Josie from saying anything else. Class continued and Landon found himself looking around the classroom out of boredom. 

Soon, Landon's eyes caught his sketchbook where a drawing of himself with hearts all around slowly appear. Josie was writing in her notebook when she looked over and saw the drawing, her face dropped at the picture and she felt herself filling to the brim with anger. It was the type of anger that overwhelmed her and she had to get it out.

Josie looked over at the same girl with short brown hair from that morning. The girl looked at Landon and smirked, Landon rolled his eyes and looked away. Josie looked at the girl one more time and knew exactly how to get her anger out. Josie rested her hand on the desk and began siphoning the desk.

_"Invidia!"_

Josie quietly chanted. The girl's nose bean to gush blood and everyone watched as she stood up and ran out of the room. Josie puts on a satisfied smile and continues writing, in the back of the classroom Naomi looks at Josie with a smirk on her face.

* * *

Josie stands in the kitchen holding a coffee mug in her hand. Landon runs into the kitchen with a coffee mug in his hand.

"There you are. Hi." Landon says.

"Hey." Josie smiles and turns to Landon as he walks towards her, "I made you coffee."

Landon pulls up his mug of half-drunk coffee, "I already..."

"Oh, that's okay, that's okay."

"Look, I could still drink it."

"No, no, you really don't have to."

"Okay."

An awkward silence fills the room and the air thickens with tension.

"This is awkward."

The pair turn to see Naomi standing behind the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"What are you doing here?" Josie rolls her eyes.

"Well, funny story," Naomi walks to the fridge and pulls out a bloodbag, "before school started I was coming to see Chris and tell him I was coming back. So, I stroll to the Old Mill and guess what I see."

The couple began to get nervous, they knew where this was going but they still both asked.

"What?"

"You two being seconds from ripping each others clothes off in the woods. Now, if that wasn't nasty enough I began to think and I had one question." Naomi takes a sip of the bloodbag, "What would Hope think?"

Landon and Josie look at each other nervously then back to Naomi. The couple's worried expressions gave Naomi all of the information she needed.

"Or have you not told her?"

Naomi takes another sip from her bloodbag pompously as she walks out of the kitchen leaving the couple. 

Josie looks to Landon.

"She's right. When are we gonna tell her?" Landon questions.

"When we know how to without hurting her feelings." Josie fumed.

"Okay. Well, for our date I was thinking of sushi?" Landon offers.

"Sure." Josie fake smiles knowing she's allergic. 

* * *

Hope sits across from Alaric who sits behind his desk at Mystic Falls High. Hope decided it'd be best to check on her old headmaster at least weekly starting today. Hope had been filling Alaric in on what Naomi said earlier that morning.

"But basically she wants us to let her graduate with no humanity and she won't kill anyone. Problem is, I don't know if I should just honor her deal or if I should intervene." Hope finishes.

Alaric sighs, "I wish I could help Naomi but I'm no longer the headmaster and who knows if she'll even listen to me. My best advice is: honor her deal and keep a close eye on her. I've seen the effects of the humanity switch and they're bad but the worst part is when the humanity comes back on and all the emotions come back to the surface."

"Yeah. You're right. I should just leave it alone."

"Good. Now, I heard about you and Landon. How're you holding up?"

"Honestly, it's hard. But, I'm taking this time to focus on school and making sure Naomi doesn't do anything out of line. I mean, someone has to do it since Vardemus won't."

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know. I just think he won't."

"Well if he's a good headmaster he'll do something if it comes down to it."

"Hopefully."

A silence befalls Hope and Alaric. After a while, Hope realizes it's a good time to leave so she stands up.

"I'm gonna go." Hope states.

"Okay. I'll see you next week?" Alaric raises an eyebrow.

"Yep."

"Okay. Do it after class next time."

"I can't make any promises."

Hope turns around to leave and as the tribrid made her way out of the door a tall tan boy with brown hair appeared right in front of Hope.

"Oh, sorry. I'm in your way." he apologized.

"No, No. It's fine." Hope pardoned.

The pair exchange a look for a moment. Hope didn't know why but she couldn't pull her eyes from his, it was like she couldn't find a reason to look away. Hope knew the whole 'love at first sight' thing was so cliche and in all honesty, she knew this wasn't love or anything of the sort but it was something new.

"Uh, I'm Ethan." the boy introduced himself.

"Hey, Ethan. I need to get back to class. Bye."

Hope shuffles past Ethan and leaves.

* * *

Lizzie paced around the Old Mill obviously irritated. MG was now an hour late and Lizzie was not waiting any longer for him. She decided to give him five more minutes and then she'd leave. To pass those five minutes she decided to rant.

"This is so lame, universe. I can't believe I got stood up by Milton Greasley." Lizzie walks to the couch inside the Old Mill, "This is what I get for assuming you'd send something amaz..."

Lizzie stops mid-sentence when she sees a boy appear in front of her. The boy was a little taller than her with black hair, at least, that's what Lizzie saw. Truthfully, it was hard to make out what he looked like because he was covered by shadows the only things Lizzie really noticed were that he was wearing what she assumed was something ahead of his time and he was very, very handsome.

"...zing." Lizzie bit her lip, "Hello. Uh, you must be new."

The boy began walking towards her, "What is this place?"

Lizzie noticed how the boy's voice had an accent to it and it turned Lizzie on.

"Oh, this is the Old Mill. I mean, it's the only mill, but we all still call it the Old Mill for some reason. I hope you're not here to chill. I mean, I don't care either way. What's your name? I thought I knew all of the incoming students."

As Lizzie spoke the boy looked around confused and when she finished her sentence he looked to her.

"Oh, is this a school of some kind?"

"The Salvatore School. Named after Damon and Stefan Salvatore, I guess. But that was, like, a long time ago or whatever."

"I see."

Lizzie's eyes scanned the boy and she bit her lip once more, "So, you're not a student?"

"No."

"Okay, well, then, who are you?"

The boy exhales stumbles over to a tree in the Mill resting his hand on it.

"Oh, are you okay?" Lizzie cautiously walked towards the boy, "Do you want to sit down?"

"No-- no! No, I'm fine." the boy takes his hand away from the tree and puts an arm out, "You should, you should keep your distance."

"I'm not gonna hurt you."

"That's not what I'm afraid of. I'm sorry, I, uh... I should go."

The boy begins leaving and Lizzie knows she can't just be left like this with questions about him and she knew she needed at least one thing answered.

"Uh, wait." Lizzie called out, "What's your name?"

"Sebastian."

"I'm Lizzie."

Sebastian smiles, "It's good to meet you, Elizabeth."

Lizzie blushes and looks down, "'Elizabeth' sounds too boring."

"I don't think it sounds boring at all."

The pair look into each other's eyes deeply before Sebastian smirks and leaves Lizzie standing there alone. Before Lizzie has time to think about the interaction MG super speeds behind her.

"Lizzie, I am so sorry. I had to help Pedro with his coloring book. He wouldn't let me leave." MG spoke frantically.

Lizzie turns around still obviously starstruck, "Yeah, don't-don't worry about it."

"You're not mad at me?"

"Not at all. Hey, uh, I-I need to gather some spell ingredients for an assignment."

MG watched as Lizzie picked up some books off of the couch.

"Uh, well, do you need company?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. Why not?"

* * *

Hope strides into Amelia's office and looks around. Hope sees purple wall, random artifacts on the white shelves, a grey bag on the ground against the desk, and Amelia sitting behind her desk with glasses on.

"Uh, hey, Amelia." Hope waves.

"That's Ms. Vaughn to you." Amelia scolds.

Hope gives Amelia a confused look and the witch laughs.

"I'm kidding. What do you need?"

"Oh, I was just coming to check in on you."

"Okay. Well, I'm doing fine, the office is unpacked, and the walls are painted. The worst thing is the overwhelming nervousness that comes from being someone who tried to kill everyone here then working here."

"Amelia- Ms. Vaughn, that's not your fault."

"Please, Ms. Mikaelson call me Amelia and, I know it's just... what if people don't want my help because of what I did?"

"Well that's their issue for avoiding help because of a situation you had no control over."

Hope gives Amelia a reassuring smile and Amelia nods.

"I have a session soon. I'll see you later?"

"Are you gonna be okay, Ms. Vaughn?"

"Please. I'm hundreds of years old. A little nervousness won't kill me."

Hope nods and exits the office.

* * *

Josie is walking through the semi-crowded auditorium when she hears someone come up behind her. Josie turns around and is face to face with Naomi.

"What now?" Josie groans.

"Look."

Naomi points forward at an upward angle to show Hope and Landon talking to each other in the hallway above the auditorium. Josie turns around to see them. 

"Uh, yeah. I think he's right, it's best to leave it alone." Hope chats.

"Yeah." Landon nods.

Josie turns back to Naomi and crosses her arms, "What? They're just talking."

"Okay, but, I bet they're not talking about the fact that you and Landon are dating."

Josie's eyes widen, "Naomi. No. Please don't."

Naomi smirks and before Josie can even blink the vampire super speeds in front of Landon facing Hope.

"Hey, Hope. I have something to tell you." Naomi smirks.

Naomi glances down to Josie who's frantically waving her arms.

"No!" Josie mouthed.

Naomi looked back to Hope and Josie knew she had to get up there before it was too late so, she ran like hell.

"Hope. Landon and Josie have been keeping a secret. So... in their honor, I'm here to tell you."

"Uh... okay?" Hope raises an eyebrow.

"Landon and Josie are..." Naomi looks past Hope to see Josie finally arrive behind Hope winded from running, "Dating. She's right behind you if you wanna talk to her."

With that, Naomi strutted away. Hope furiously turned to Josie.

"When were you gonna tell me?" Hope inquired with anger in her voice.

"Hope, I-"

Hope turned to Landon ignoring Josie, "And you! This is what you've been doing all summer?Her?"

"Hope, we meant to tell you we just didn't know how." Landon explained.

"How about 'By the way, Hope we're dating'?"

"Cause we were afraid you'd react like this."

"I mean, I'm entitled to it! I spent the whole being depressed over you and you just moved on! Easily!"

"Hope, it wasn't easy-"

"I don't wanna hear it. You know, you two deserve each other. You're both bad liars."

With that, Hope storms away.

* * *

MG sat across Kaleb in the common area. Kaleb ate popcorn while MG practiced talking with Lizzie.

"Lizzie, I had so much fun with you today. And I know you had fun with me, too. We have great chemistry, we're both single. We should seize this opportunity and take our relationship to the next level."

MG smiles thinking he did a good job but his thoughts are shot down by Kaleb throwing popcorn at him.

"Boo! What is that? You're not recruiting her to your multi-level marketing company. Come on, man, try again. All right? You know, just... feel it. Feel it." Kaleb advised.

MG leans against the couch and scrunches his face into a smolder, "You a'ight, Lizzie?"

Kaleb gives MG a condescending look before throwing more popcorn at him. 

"What the hell is that? Come on, man. Just... how do you... when you look at her, how do you really feel?" Kaleb inquires sincerely.

"I feel like I know her, man. All of her. The good, the terrible, the bitchy, the funny, the fragile. I know her favorite episode of her favorite TV show. I know who she is when no one's watching. I like all of it. She deserves to be with someone who sees her for who she is."

"Yeah, man. Say that." Kaleb chuckles, "Say that."

* * *

Chris sat in the common area with Xavier, Noah, and Jed. The boys were laughing, joking, and overall having fun. Hope came up to the group and sat next to Chris.

"Hey, Chris. Can we talk?" Hope asks.

"Yep. Go ahead." Chris nods.

Hope looks around at the boys then back to Chris, "In private?"

"You can say it in front of my friends. They'll listen to you and they'll keep your secret."

Hope looks at Jed and raises an eyebrow, "Are you sure?"

"He's fine, I promise. Now, go ahead."

"Wait, Noah, are you okay? I heard what happened to you."

"Hope? What are you doing?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're trying to avoid talking about the issue by trying to start a conversation with Noah."

"I'm just checking on him."

"Oh really?"

"Yes."

"When was the last time you talked to Noah? No offense, Noah."

Noah shakes his head, "None taken."

"Fair point." Hope spoke.

"Yeah. So, what's the real issue?"

"Well... all day I've been trying to check in on everyone to make sure I didn't see Landon and have that awkward conversation with Landon about what happened. But, my plans didn't work because I ran into him and... it wasn't great."

"What the hell happened?" Jed inquired.

"Well, Naomi told me that Josie and Landon are together and I kinda... freaked out on the both of them. Now, I feel bad but, like, I also feel justified in my reaction. I don't know. Was I wrong or right?"

Chris felt bad for his friend and he knew the right answer but she wasn't in need of the right answer. She was in need of a friend.

"Wrong or right, one thing's for certain."

"What?"

"You need to move on. Find someone new."

"What?"

"Chris is right." Noah chimed in, "He's obviously moved on so why are you still holding out for him?"

"Sometimes you love someone who can't love you back." Xavier sighs.

Jed gives Xavier a sincere look and thinks 'Who hurt him?' then looks back to Hope.

"Yep. And the best cure for that is finding something new to occupy your time." Chris nods.

"But I shouldn't get with someone to fill a void." Hope frets.

"Isn't that what Landon's doing?" Jed asks bluntly.

Everyone glares daggers at Jed and he shrugs.

"All I'm saying is the best way to get over someone is to get under someone new." Jed implies.

Chris sighs and looks to Hope, "Jed's right. His delivery is off but he's right. You need someone new in your life."

"You're right..." Hope looks around at all of them, "You guys are like a therapy group. How did you all even start talking? It's literally the first day."

"Well, we've all been going to school together since I got here and Noah is my roommate. Besides, when I was one of Penelope's minions I picked up a few tips on how to make a group of friends. Except this group is more of a team and not a dictatorship." Chris explains.

Hope smiles, "Well I'm glad you're making friends. You've come a long way since Freshman year."

Chris smiles back at his friend, "Thanks. Now go live your life. Maybe you can make your own group." he says nicely. 

"Oh, I see I'm being kicked out."

Chris raises his eyebrows and Hope laughs.

"Wow. Okay, bye."

Hope gets up and walks away.

* * *

Landon and Josie walk through the town square. The date they just had was a mess but they hadn't talked about it since they left. As they walked Josie shivered.

"Are you sure you don't want my jacket?" Landon puzzled.

"I'm not cold." Josie lied.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No."

"I don't really believe that."

"Well, then, tell me what you want me to say."

"I want you to say whether or not you had a good time at dinner, because it seemed like you were miserable the whole time."

Josie faces Landon and they stop walking.

"I mean, you didn't want dessert. Is this about what happened with Hope?"

"No. I just don't feel good, can we just talk about it tomorrow?"

"No, you've been weird all day. What changed?"

"Nothing. I'm sorry. I'm tired. Um..." Josie chuckles, "we had a bad date. It happens. I'm gonna go home, and I'm sure that everything's gonna be fine tomorrow."

Josie turned around and left Landon standing alone.

* * *

Night fell over Mystic Falls as Lizzie stood behind a table at the Old Mill. Lit candles and Christmas lights filled the room as Lizzie waved her arms over the map on the table.

_"Ahsorum, dolusantum, infidictus!"_

Lizzie chanted.

"Picture the face of the person, and then touch the map. If they are found within its boundaries, the map will glow." Lizzie says.

Lizzie closes her eyes and touches the map. The witch sees nothing and takes her hands off the map deciding it didn't work.

"Okay. Next one."

"Hello, Elizabeth."

Lizzie quickly looks to the side to see Sebastian standing across from her. Lizzie quickly regains her composure.

"You again." pronounced Lizzie.

Sebastian smirks, "Ah, you're a witch."

Sebastian begins walking towards Lizzie.

"Yeah. And you are clearly something, because you've gotten past the magical defenses of this school twice now, so, your turn to answer. What are you, exactly?"

"What were you looking for?"

"Nothing. Um, this-- I-- I am just waiting... for a friend. Who's a guy. And, um, he'll be any moment."

"Oh."

"Um, you haven't answered any of my questions yet. If you aren't a student, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you." Sebastian paces around the table, "I have a request."

"Which is?"

"Stop looking for me."

"I'm not."

"You're drawn to me. I can sense it. I'm drawn to you, too but you shouldn't let me get too close."

"And why is that?"

"You seem like a nice girl, and, well, my life is... shall we say..." Sebastian is now next to Lizzie resting his hand on hers as she looks in his eyes, "complicated."

The couple looked deeply into each other's eyes once again and Lizzie wanted to lean in for a kiss.

"Goodbye, Elizabeth." Sebastian continued.

Sebastian walked out of the Old Mill leaving Lizzie to herself.

* * *

Josie lays in her bed snuggled up in the covers. Josie tossed and turned, she was trying to sleep but was unable to due to how uncomfortable she was. When Josie finally gave up on sleeping she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Josie monotoned.

Josie's door opened and she saw Hope standing in the doorway.

"Hey." Hope waved.

"Hey. What do you need?" Josie asked.

"I just came here to apologize about what happened earlier today. It was uncalled for and I'm sorry."

"Honestly Hope, I'm having a bad day and this pathetic apology isn't helping me at all."

"What?"

"I'm just having a bad day."

"Well, you're not the only one."

"Look, I'm sorry and as a friend I should've said something, you shouldn't have to hear that from Naomi."

"Well, that's a pathetic apology."

Josie glares at Hope, "What?"

"You could've easily told me when I got here."

"Why? So you could make a scene in front of more people?"

"I wouldn't have made a scene."

"Sure."

"You know what, Josie I shouldn't have to tell you this but, friends don't date their friend's ex's."

"And girlfriends don't cheat on their boyfriends with their brothers."

"That was a lapse of judgment."

"Okay well let's call it how it is: you're mad at yourself, not me."

Hope looks down and thinks about Josie's words. They were true, she was mad at herself for what she had done and Josie deserved a better apology.

"Jo..." Hope trailed off.

"Can you please leave?" Josie requested.

Hope nods and leaves the room closing the door softly.

* * *

Lizzie sat on a couch in the empty common are twirling a piece of her bleach-blonde hair. Loud footsteps approach but Lizzie doesn't notice due to her being lost in thought. MG walks up to Lizzie.

"Hey, Lizzie. How'd that spell go?" MG asked sitting down next to Lizzie.

"You're not gonna believe this." Lizzie beamed.

"I have something to tell you, too."

"Okay. Well, me first, cause I want you to hear it from me. So, that spell that you were helping me with earlier? I know you probably don't want to hear this, but it was to help me find this mystery guy I've been looking for. And I-I don't want to hurt your feelings, but... I think I have a crush on him."

Lizzie's words cut MG deeply and he felt himself fighting back tears as his friend continued speaking.

"When I was in Europe, it was so amazing because nobody knew who I was. I was just this brand-new person. I could start over." Lizzie continued, "I wasn't 'Crazy Lizzie' I was just me. And when Sebastian looked at me today, I-I felt that way again. He doesn't know anything about me. I can start over. So, thank you for helping."

Lizzie put a hand on MG's, "I should've told you."

MG looked at the sparkle in Lizzie's eye as she spoke so highly of this other man. He knew that no matter how he felt, no matter how much he knew, no matter how much he cared, it'll never be enough. He knew that he'd constantly been and will continue to be hurt like this and there was nothing he could do about it. So, He put his hand on Lizzie's and sniffled.

"What are friends for?"

* * *

Landon sat on a bench in town square. He was reflecting on the day and writing about it his feelings in song. As he wrote he heard someone walking in the square he looked behind him to see Hope.

"Hey." he greeted.

"Hey. You look... lonely." Hope points out.

"Well, you could come sit if you want."

"I really shouldn't."

"It's okay, Hope. We're just two friends talking about the day."

Hope sighs and walks over to sit next to Landon.

"So, me and Josie just talked." Hope told.

"Yeah." Landon nodded, "And?"

"And, I was wondering why you and Josie didn't just tell me when I got here but, I think I get it now: you guys didn't want me to cause a scene. And, I get that seeing how I acted today."

"Well, you're half right. Another reason we didn't tell is cause we didn't know how to without hurting your feelings."

Hope laughs, "I think you have permission to hurt my feelings after what I did to you."

"Yeah, but, I don't see it that way. I think you owe me an apology for sure. But, do I think you deserve anything bad? No."

"Well, according to Josie, my apologies are pathetic."

"Try me."

"Okay." Hope clears her throat, "Landon, I am truly sorry for hurting you in the way I did. I couldn't even imagine the pain I caused you and I don't want anyone to go through what you went through. I sincerely apologize."

Hope and Landon look at each other in the eyes and stop talking for a second. Before any thoughts can rush through either of their heads Landon breaks the silence.

"Wow." he says, "That was pathetic."

Hope chuckles, "See? I told you."

"But, I forgive you."

"Thank you." Hope smiles, "So, the songbook is out. What sorrows are we writing down?"

"Oh, me and Josie had a bad date."

"Oh."

"Yeah. This might be super weird to say but, I really want things to work with her, you know? I really think this is a good opportunity for something new in my life."

"Then what are you doing talking to me? Tell her how you feel."

"But what if she doesn't feel the same."

Hope puts a hand on Landon's shoulder, "Landon. She likes you, a lot. I can see it. But, she needs to know that you like her back."

Landon let Hope's words fall onto his ears and trickle their way into his brain. Landon realized that he can't make sure he and Josie work until he makes sure he's not hurting Hope.

Landon looked to Hope, "Will you be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Maybe this is time for me to find something new as well."

Hope plasters on a fake smile and Landon beams before standing up.

"You're right. I need to tell her how I feel. Thanks, Hope."

"Anytime."

Hope watched as Landon walked off. Hope sat on the bench alone and put her hands in her lap. She held back tears as she thought about Landon and Josie being together.

* * *

Landon knocks on Josie's closed door.

"Come in." Josie says allowing Landon access.

Landon opens up the door to see Josie laying in her bed. Josie sees Landon and sits up as Landon slowly walks over to sit next to her.

"I'm sorry." Landon starts, "We shouldn't have even gone out if you were getting sick."

"I'm not sick." Josie sighs, "I'm allergic to seaweed."

"But sushi is, like, all seaweed. And you ate it anyway? Why?"

"Because you seemed like you really wanted sushi. I didn't want to be a problem on our first date."

"Why would that be a problem?"

"Um... Because I'm always the caretaker. And today just really freaked me out because you didn't need me at all. And if I'm not fixing problems, I have no idea where I belong in your life. So I was stupid and I was jealous because I'm just afraid that there's no place for me. And that's just how I am with boys, girls. Apparently, I'm just always codependent and ridiculous."

"Or you've just never been in a relationship where what you want matters."

Landon looked at Josie and Josie thought about Penelope and how she always put her first. She knew Landon was wrong but, she didn't want to correct him. Not now.

"Besides, you're not the only ridiculous one." Landon continued, "I should've noticed how you felt and had this talk earlier. I'm so sorry. I just wanted to make you happy."

Josie smiled, "You do make me happy. I'm just codependent. I don't want to be. I really don't. But, you should know it's gonna take some time for me to change."

"Yeah, you should know that I'm gonna do way too much and go over the top with big speeches and boyfriend gestures all to make you happy."

"Did you just say 'boyfriend'?"

"Yeah, I think I did."

"Okay."

Josie puts her hands on Landon's face and pulls him into a passionate kiss. The pair felt like they were the only people on Earth as they happily made out.

* * *

Hope walks into Amelia's office. As Hope enters Amelia quickly puts down the book she was reading and looks at the girl.

"Hello, Hope. I was just finishing up, what's going on?" Amelia puzzled.

"Uh, Hi. I have an issue." Hope begins.

"What is it?"

"Um... Dr. Satlzman has left the school, Chris has a new group of friends so he doesn't need me, Naomi's not emotionally available, I had a falling out with Josie, Landon's moved on, and..." before Hope could finish her sentence her voice broke and tears began to run down Hope's face, "it feels like everyone's forgotten me."

Hope began to sob and Amelia hopped up and quickly walked over to the girl. Amelia pulled Hope into a tight embrace and rubbed the back of her head to comfort her.

"I know. It's okay." Amelia cooed.

Hope wrapped Amelia in her arms and cried into her shirt as Amelia continued to try and comfort the teen.

* * *

Josie smiles as she spreads the peanut butter onto her sandwich when Naomi enters the kitchen.

"I saw that spell you casted in class today." Naomi remarked.

Josie turned to Naomi with a panicked expression, "Don't tell anyone."

"My lips are sealed. But, here's a tip: next time you do something bad have a distraction so everyone focuses on one thing while you raise hell."

"No. I'm not like you."

"You're more like me than you think, Jo."

Josie's furrows her brows, "It's time for you to turn your humanity on."

"No. I don't want to feel all the horrible things I've done. All the people I've killed. All the lives I've ruined. It'd be too much for me."

As Naomi spoke every word fell onto Josie's ears and she realized she had lost her friend and that Naomi truly had become a monster.

"Josie, curfew's in five." Naomi smiles.

Josie quickly finishes making the sandwich and begins walking out of the kitchen. As Josie reaches the exit she hears Naomi call out to her.

"You're a very powerful witch." She says, "Don't let it go to waste."

Josie hesitates leaving for a moment then quickly walks out of the kitchen. As Josie leaves Naomi smirks because she feels a plan forming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter! what was your favorite part? I liked all of it. Feel free to comment your favorite part! (also Vardemus isn't Clarke in ours)
> 
> The next chapter will be out tomorrow @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	3. Who Are You Trying To Find?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a clear night, no stars in the sky. It was completely silent in the woods until a black truck with bright headlights drove through and pulled up to the back of the Salvatore School. Athletic boys hopped out of the truck as it came to a stop. A pudgy black guy stepped out of the driver's seat and made his way forward.

"All right boys, let's do this." the boy smirks," And don't screw up the spelling this year. There's one 'I' in dick."

Ethan stepped out of the car and walked over to the boy, "Probably should be a _you_."

The boy turned around and glared at Ethan, "Was that an insult?"

"I don't know, Dennis. Let me know when you figure it out." Ethan deeply sighs, "Why are we doing this?"

"Because we always do. We vandalize the Salvatore School every year. It's a tradition."

"So is the electoral college."

"Never heard of 'em. The football team must suck."

Ethan stands there in awe of Dennis' stupidity as the boy turns from him and continues walking forward ahead of the group. Dennis realizes Ethan and the other boys he brought along aren't following, Dennis comes to a stop and turns around.

"What are y'all waiting for? I told you what to do." Dennis fumed.

"Last I checked, QB calls the plays. I say we go home." Ethan demands.

"The last I checked, I've been starting at linebacker for four years now. And you're only our quarterback because Connor transferred."

"Not the only reason." Ethan walked forward and made a stop at Dennis' face, "God also put a thunderbolt in my right arm. So let's just go before you experience it."

"It's my truck, and I ain't going anywhere. So do what you got to do, Thor."

Ethan and Dennis stared each other down for a little longer before Ethan decided he knew what the smartest decision was. Ethan nodded, turned around, and began walking off; the other boys follow.

"Nice night for a walk, anyway. Good luck with the spelling, Dennis." Ethan nodded.

Dennis watched the other boys leave, "Hey, where are you two going?"

Dennis bent down and grabbed a can of spray paint out of his bag. He began to shake the can up before he heard hissing coming from his right. Dennis jumped and looked in the direction of the noise to see nothing. Fear filled Dennis as he ran back to his car, opened the door, and pulled out a rifle mumbling, "Hell no." the whole way. Dennis closes his door and looks around, the woods are quiet, everything's still. Just as Dennis' anxiety began to subside he felt hands grab his shoulders and pull him back, before he could react sharp teeth sunk into his neck and he could feel his blood being drained.

* * *

Hope clutches the straps of her backpack as she walks through the crowded halls of the Salvatore School. As Hope walks she thinks to herself, 'They say that it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, whoever wrote that lied and has obviously never experienced the love of their life moving on so quickly after their stupid mistake.' before Hope can get too deep in thought she's stopped by a tap on the shoulder. Hope turns around to see Naomi standing with a schedule in her hands.

"Uh... hello?" Hope raises an eyebrow.

"Hey, Hope. I decided to skip science until today, and now that I'm actually going to the class I'm realizing I don't know where it is. So, could you help me find science? I guess they moved it." Naomi said with slight emotion in her voice.

"Uh, yeah." Hope points to the classroom just a little bit behind Naomi to the right, "There."

Naomi looks to the classroom then back to Hope, "Thanks."

Hope nods and turns around, she begins to continue her walk but stops when,

"Have a nice day, Hope." Naomi calls out.

Hope freezes for a little longer before continuing her walk down the hall.

* * *

"Yeah, sorry I... haven't seen him." Alaric gives the picture of Dennis back to Sheriff Mac "Like I said, I'm pretty new here."

Alaric was looking at the new sheriff of Mystic Falls. She was questioning him about Dennis, apparently, he went missing the night before. Alaric of course didn't know this; he had some theories about who it could be, but he couldn't tell the sheriff that he thought the suspect was a former vampire student of his who recently turned her humanity off.

"Well, his teammates last saw him at the Old Mill by the Salvatore School. We found his truck abandoned and his hunting rifle nearby." Sheriff Mac confirmed. 

"Okay. Well, I will check with his classmates and his teachers. I wish I could be more helpful, but like I said, I'm still getting to know the students. And the sheriff." 

Sheriff Mac smiles.

"I was friends with the old one." Alaric informs

"Please, no more stories about how great Sheriff Donovan was. His shoes are already big enough. And this is my first real case since I moved from the city. Truthfully, I didn't mind that my biggest concern up to this point was a rash of missing dogs" Sheriff Mac chuckles

Alaric nods.

"Maybe they're connected." Sheriff Mac joked.

Alaric chuckles, "Maybe."

Sheriff Mac gets up, "I'll give you my phone number. Call me anytime." 

Sheriff Mac turns around to leave Alaric's office. As the sheriff left, Alaric smiled. There may not have been a connection between dogs and Dennis but there were definitely other connections.

* * *

All of the students of the Salvatore School sat in the auditorium watching as Vardemus paced back and forth on the mini-stage with a football in hand and a hat resting on the podium in front of him.

"As you are well aware, it's time for the annual American football match with Mystic Falls High." Vardemus announces.

The room fills with groans, sighs, and other expressions of disapproval.

"Quiet, students." Vardemus commanded.

The room fell to a hush and Vardemus continued, "Now, I know you all expected me to lift the law Dr. Saltzman placed by allowing you to use your powers. The answer to that is no. I do believe that what Dr. Saltzman said should continue to be upheld. However, I do also believe that if we are going to lose we will not lie on our backs and take the loss. You shall all play to your full potential without your powers."

Kaleb rolls his eyes as he and everyone else watch Vardemus come to a stop in front of the podium.

"I do also believe in leadership and the ability to create a leader out of happenstance." Vardemus puts his hands on the hat, "So, your quarterback will be chosen randomly."

Vardemus closes his eyes and the hat let out firework-like sparks as a piece of paper was sent out of it and floated in front of Vardemus. Vardemus opened his eyes and grasped the paper, he read it.

"Your quarterback this year is..." Vardemus looks up, "Landon Kirby!"

Awkward cheers filled the room as Vardemus threw the football at the phoenix. Landon barely catches the ball as he looks around the auditorium.

* * *

MG enters Lizzie's room in his Salvatore Stallions uniform. As MG enters Lizzie remains unbothered and reads her book.

"We have an emergency." MG starts, "Headmaster Vardemus wants _Landon_ to play QB."

As MG approaches Lizzie continues to read her book.

"Cool." Lizzie sighed nonchalantly. 

"Cool? That's your slot."

Lizzie closes her book and prissily looks at MG, "I'm hunting bigger game this year."

"That Sebastian dude you're crushing on?"

"Yeah." Lizzie stands up, "I'm trying to find out if he's trustworthy cause what I saw him wearing when we met was something straight out of 'Game of Thrones'. And, given the events of last school year, you can't be too careful with new faces coming to the school."

Lizzie shows MG the book she was reading. MG reads the cover of the book, 'Supernaturals Throughout History' it said.

"You think he's older than he looks?" MG raises an eyebrow.

Lizzie nods and takes the book back, "I'm thinking I can't rule it out. He's either a witch keeping himself alive with crystals like Amelia or an old vampire. Either way, I need to find out. So, sorry, but this is way more important than football. Even though I'm awesome at it."

Lizzie walks back and grabs another book off of a small table next to her chair before walking in front of MG to get more books. As Lizzie walks toward him, MG moved out of the way. He was beginning to get fed up, he just wanted to be able to see Lizzie like he did last year. He didn't care about Sebastian or figuring out what he is, all he cared about was being able to spend time with Lizzie.

"Well... Landon pulled his groin combing his hair once. We need you at that game." MG states.

Lizzie finished packing her bag full of books and looks at the vampire, "MG, I am mentally healthy for perhaps the first time in my life, and ready for romance. I'm hoping Sebastian pans out. But if he doesn't, I need to set my sights on someone else."

Lizzie walks towards the door and MG sits on the arm of the mini-coach Lizzie has in her room.

"Like uh..." MG lowers his voice a little, "who?"

Lizzie looks back at MG, "The first person that asks. It's the year of yes. Remember?"

With that Lizzie exits the room. MG stands speechless for a moment before realizing his task at hand and following the Saltzman.

"Well, in that case, two sets of eyes are better than one, especially when one of them can vamp-read so come to the game. I'll help you hit the books, and we can figure out who this guy really is." MG offers.

Lizzie spins to face MG, "Part of me is worried about what we might find out."

"You're supposed to say yes. Remember?"

"Fine. Yes. Guess I better go dig up that trash bag of a jersey."

Lizzie rolls her eyes and saunters past MG. MG smiles as he watches his crush leave.

* * *

the sun shined above the field as Josie and Landon were practicing for the annual football game on the field with their fellow teammates. 

"Yellow 80..." Landon said.

Josie hikes the football to Landon but it just hits him in the gut. Josie turns around and gives Landon a look of disappointment. She was hoping her boyfriend would be... better. Not good, not great. Better. But, he wasn't. He wasn't even good. But, no matter. Josie will help him.

"Sorry. Foster care didn't have a football team. What did I tell you? I'm not cut out for this. Now the whole school's gonna see it, and... this is a total disaster." Landon doubted. 

Josie reaches for Landon's hands to hold them to try and calm his nervousness.

"And like I told you. I'm really good at taking care of people. We're gonna get through this." 

"How? I can't even throw." 

"Yes, you can. You just need a little help." 

Josie starts to siphon from Landon and quietly chants, 

" _Viribus._ "

Josie lets Landon's hands go.

"What'd you just do? I thought we weren't supposed to use our powers." Landon raises an eyebrow.

Josie bends down to get a football then stands up, now facing Landon again.

"You obviously missed the meeting before the game and see for yourself." Josie says handing the football to Landon.

Landon throws the football, the ball soars through the crisp air until it evidently hits the Mystic Falls High school bus, shattering the glass door.

Kaleb sees the football hit the glass door, "Damn! That's my quarterback." he states looking back to Landon.

The students of Mystic Falls High get off the school bus making their way to the football field.

Maya is walking to the field when she stops to stare at Landon and gives him a wink.

"Do you know her?" Josie asks.

"No." Landon answers.

"Why is she checking you out then?"

"I have no clue. We should just ignore it."

As Alaric is walking to the Timberwolves side of the field, Dorian approaches him.

"Ric..." Dorian calls out to Alaric trying to get his attention, "There's something that you need to see."

About thirty minutes later, Vardemus is walking to the middle of the field where Josie and Maya are facing one another as they await tip-off.

"Let us begin our annual rite of American excess. But unlike last year, I expect no unseemly violence only for each team to play to the fullest extent of their abilities. Understood?"

The players nod.

"Timberwolves of Mystic Falls, you may as I believe they say, call it in the air."

Vardemus launches the coin into the air with his thumb and it flips.

"Heads." Maya called. 

Landon looks to the coin that lands in front of him, "Tails never fails." 

"We'll take the ball." Josie says.

"So it begins. Uh, shake hands." Vardemus tells the students.

Maya and Landon shake hands but it's a little too long for comfort and Landon ends up walking away.

"Are you enjoying the hand-holding? Cause it shouldn't be happening." Josie scolded.

"Uh, sorry." Maya apologizes. 

* * *

Dennis sat on a chair in the library with a blanket around him and a patch on his neck. It seemed as if Dennis was frozen because his gaze didn't move from the floor and he barely even blinked. His breathing was strange, shaky, multiple inhale in, multiple exhale out, not normal smooth inhale-exhale breaths. Dorian and Alaric walked up to Dennis.

"We found him wandering the woods, half out of his mind. He didn't settle down until we compelled him. He keeps saying he has to forget but he can't." Dorian explains.

Alaric sighs and places his clipboard onto a small round table.

"That's strange." Alaric said.

"What's even more strange is when we ask him what he has to forget he can't tell us. It's like the memory is just plaguing him but he can't get it out. And, after we ask him what he needs to forget he freaks out. Watch. Dennis, what do you have to forget?"

"I... I... I don't know." Dennis' eyes widened and he had a look of pure fear, "Ow. M-My blood. Forget. Forget. Forget."

Alaric and Dorian looked at each other with a look that they knew what was going on.

"We know a vampire did this but we can't pinpoint which one." Dorian disclosed.

"Yeah... I think I can guess which one." Alaric sighed.

* * *

"We found the missing kid. Thank God he's okay." Alaric told.

Alaric stood next to Vardemus on the sidelines of the football field as the game was in full swing.

"Yes, yes. Very good." Vardemus slowly nodded.

"Yeah, but we have an issue." Alaric started.

Vardemus looked to Alaric and raised an eyebrow.

"Apparently Naomi was feeding on the kid and when she was about to compel him to patch himself up and forget what happened, a howl from a wolf brought her out of it and she left leaving the poor kid half-compelled." Alaric explained.

"Well, Naomi must be confined into the school immediately." Vardemus ordered.

"Already one step ahead of you. Dorian got a student that's not at the game to watch her."

"Very good, then."

On the field, Maya runs up to kick the ball. The ball soared high into the sky and into Josie's hands, Josie ran past Kaleb and made a fake hand-off to him. Josie continued to run down the field and Maya ran towards her. When Maya was close enough she stole a flag off of Josie's belt, falling to the ground as Josie turned to the side and put her hands up. When Maya looked up at a backward-running Josie she saw empty hands. She could've sworn Josie had the ball.

"What?" Maya questioned.

As if it was magic Kaleb was running down the field with the ball. Kaleb ran into the end zone and happily launched the ball to the ground. As the whistle blew Vardemus and Alaric watched Kaleb in terror.

"Why are they using their powers? Did you tell them they could?" Alaric asks angrily.

"No, Dr. Saltzman. I told them not to use their abilities so I am just as shocked as you are." Vardemus stated.

On the field, MG and Kaleb high five and inch down the hillside by side.

"That block was dope! Using our powers was the best idea we could all come up with." MG smiled.

"Yeah." Kaleb agreed.

"Who did come up that idea?"

"Me and Josie."

* * *

**BEFORE THE GAME**

All the students playing in the game (with the exception of Lizzie and Landon) stood in the gym with their uniforms on. As Kaleb entered the gym they saw Josie standing in front of everyone.

"Good, Kaleb is here. We can start." Josie announced.

"Why the hell are we even here? The game hasn't started." Kaleb rolled his eyes.

"Well, I had an idea and I wanted to see how everyone playing liked it."

"Okay. What is it?" Kaleb asked.

"Well, Headmaster Vardemus said he won't let us use our powers but I think we should."

"Josie, your dad wouldn't like that." Chris added.

"My dad isn't here to stop us." Josie smirks.

"But he'll be at the game. He's the coach."

"That's why we have to be sneaky about it. Little things like the occasional speed boost, or a small spell."

Kaleb walks towards Josie, "Personally, I think it's a good idea."

Kaleb made a stop next to Josie and faced everyone in the room.

"I mean, I'm tired of losing to those Mystic Falls clowns. And, we did it last year without getting caught, why not do it again? Who's with me?" Kaleb asked.

The unsure students stayed silent not knowing if this was a good idea or not.

"I said, who's with me?!" Kaleb asked his voice booming.

The change in tone determined all of the students as they all smiled.

"Me!" Everyone yelled.

It became a celebration and as Chris watched everyone cheer he sighed knowing something bad would come of this.

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

Hope sat across from Naomi in the common area with her arms crossed as Naomi ate chips, no, not ate, smacked. Hope was tired, she wanted to be at the game watching her ex-boyfriend having his golden moment.

_Smack!_

Hope's thoughts conflicted as she remembered what Chris and his friends had said about moving on and finding something new in her life.

_Smack!_

Hope didn't want want to find something new in her life, she wanted to be with him, to love him, to kiss him, to hug him.

_Smack!_

But, she knew she couldn't. She didn't want to hurt Josie, she knew she's hurt Josie enough. Hope knew she's hurt everyone enough, and she didn't want to hurt anyone else and go from forgotten to hated.

_Smack!_

"Can you stop?" Hope asked angrily.

Naomi looked at Hope, rolled up her bag of chips, and put it down.

"It's already bad enough I'm missing the game, you don't have to sit their and smack." Hope sighs, "How did I go from having deep talks with Landon and making progress to babysitting a vampire with no impulse control."

After a little bit of silence, what Hope said finally sat with Naomi.

"Wait. What?" Naomi asked.

Hope's eyes widened and covered her mouth realizing what she said.

"You talked to Landon?" Naomi questioned.

"Don't say anything about it. I don't want Josie to freak out." Hope says.

"I won't."

Naomi begins to think of ways to leave, she doesn't want to be there, she wants to be at the game. Naomi thinks deeper and deeper on ways to leave and it hits her.

"Last night when I was trying to feed I heard a wolf howling in the woods." Naomi smirks.

"Why does that matter?" Hope raises an eyebrow.

"Think about it: who's the only wolf in Mystic Falls that isn't in the school?"

Hope's eyes widened, "Rafael."

Naomi nodded. This was the best news Hope had gotten in a while. Hope knew she had to get Rafael back to the school for two reasons: to ensure his safety and to rest Landon's restless mind. Hope stood up quickly.

"Come on, we're gonna find Rafael." Hope commanded.

Naomi laughed, "I'm good. Thank you, though."

"Well, you can't be left alone."

"Yes, I can. I'm emotionless not a child."

Hope considered forcing Naomi to come with but she knew she couldn't, one thing everyone knew about Naomi is that when she doesn't want to do something she won't, and having no humanity won't change that.

"Fine. But, you _have_ to stay here." Hope demanded.

"Okay. Enjoy finding your other man." Naomi innocently smiled.

Hope rolled her eyes and sped-walked away. Once Hope was out of sight Naomi got up and walked in the other direction.

* * *

Lizzie is reading on the sideline when she is interrupted by MG.

"Did you see that block? I totally opened up the lane and sprung that play, in a respectful way." MG states.

"Sorry, too busy figuring out if I'm falling in love with Beau the heretic." Lizzie mentioned.

MG moves to sit beside Lizzie, "And?"

"Well, he's dead so, inconclusive. You're supposed to be helping me." 

"Okay, I'll take the next series off and dig in." MG takes the book from Lizzie and starts speed reading.

Lizzie looked at MG and smiled. She loved how he was so willing and eager to help, how he was always there for her throughout all endeavors. Even though MG (obviously) had a crush on her still helped. That's what Lizzie liked about him. He was a great friend.

"You're a really great..." MG turns stops reading and looks to Lizzie "You're just really great, MG."

MG nods.

"I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Let's figure out what to do about Sebastian first. Then we can worry about me."

Landon is on the field getting ready for the next play.

Josie runs up to Landon, "You're blitzing on first down."

"Cool." Landon replied, "Uh, what does that mean, Exactly?"

"It means the second she snaps the ball, you yell 'blitz' and you bury Little Miss Checkout." 

"That's aggressive." 

"You have a problem hitting her or something? She has no problem hitting on you." 

"Consider her blitzed." 

Josie puts in her mouthpiece to get ready for the play.

"That's aggressive." Maya says.

The girl hikes the ball to Maya but the ball passes her landing on the ground a behind her.

"Oh..." Maya turns around to get the ball.

"Landon!" Josie yells.

"Oh, uh, blitz!" Landon remembers.

Landon runs over to Maya to tackle her as she throws the ball to her teammate.

The ball soars through the air, "I got it." Kaleb and MG say in unison.

Both boys try to catch the ball but inevitably bump into each other causing their opponent to catch the ball and run into the end zone.

Maya and Landon are on the ground after Landon just tackled Maya.

"Hell of a throw, Johnny Utah." Landon says to Maya.

"Ow!" Maya winces in pain.

"Are you okay?" 

"No, I need help." 

"I'm so sorry." 

Landon moves to help Maya stand up.

"I think it's just twisted but it hurts like hell." Maya winces

"There's a nurse's office in the school. First floor, right side." Landon says as he brings her over to the sideline and hands her off to someone else.

"Okay." Maya winces as she limps away.

Josie walks up to Landon, "What was that all about?"

"Josie, I hurt her." Landon acknowledges.

"No, you didn't, she's fine. She was walking to get help wasn't she?" 

"She's hurt." 

"Why are you taking her side." 

"It's not about sides. It's about being a decent human being." 

"Well, you're not a human, you're a phoenix. This is a game where there are sides. Plus, there's something off about her" 

"Yeah, she's not the only one." Landon states then walks off.

Josie sighed as Landon walked off. She knew she was in the wrong she was just so... insecure. And angry. She didn't know why she felt this, she just knew she couldn't shake it.

* * *

Hope enters Landon and Rafael's room. Hope looks around the room and memories begin to flood her head. Hope walks over to Landon's bed and grabs his jacket; the tribrid rubbed her hand on the jacket feeling everything, every thread, the soft surface. After she put the jacket down she walked over to Landon's guitar and rubbed her hands on the metal strings that made a noise as she rubbed. As Hope had her hand on the guitar she thought about the times Landon would play songs for Hope in his room under the cover of night, or the times she caught him writing songs about her when she would go into his room, she loved knowing someone had so much emotion, so much passion, so much love for her. Before Hope could think anymore she yanked her hand from the guitar.

"Stop, stop, stop. You're here for a reason." she told herself.

Hope turned around and began to look through Rafael's stuff on his side of the room. Hope collected one of Rafael's hoodies and sat on the floor. Hope placed the clothes in her bag and took out a folded map, Hope unfolded the map and placed it on the floor in front of her. Hope pulled a knife out of her back pocket and pricked her finger before turning her finger toward the map and allowing the blood to drip onto it. As Hope was about to do her spell Landon approached.

"What are you doing in my room?" Landon asked.

Hope jumped up, "Uh... it's not what it looks like?"

"It looks like you're doing a locator spell, Hope. My question is: who are you trying to find?"

Hope sighs and looks into Landon's eyes, "Naomi told me that Rafael is in the woods so... I'm trying to find him."

Landon smiles brightly, "I'm going with you."

"No. If there's something in the woods or there's something wrong with Rafael... I-I don't want you to get hurt."

"Hope. I'm fine. I'm a phoenix, remember? I can't die."

"Sure you can't die but you're not invincible. You can still go through physical and emotional pain."

Landon walks towards Hope, "I'll be okay. Now, are we going or not?"

* * *

It's half time and the Salvatore Stallions make their way into the gym to grab snacks and rest before the second half starts. 

"Okay, okay, Stallions, I see you. That's what I'm talking about." Kaleb cheered.

Kaleb grabs a blood bag off the snack table.

"Good half. Now, we can take it easy. This game is done and dusted." Kaleb smirks with satisfaction.

Josie walks into the gym, "No, it's not. We need to score more."

"We're up 35-7 Jo. No reason to rub it in." Kaleb takes a sip of blood, "I mean, it sounded cool and all, sticking it to the townies, but now it feels wrong." he takes a seat, "I don't think we need to use our powers in the second half."

"What? Why not?" Josie asks.

Kaleb sighs, "Because your dad was right about the way the game should be played. He was right about a lot of things. But you already know how I feel about that subject."

"So, I'm guessing you don't want to play quarterback, then?" Josie asks.

"No." Kaleb replies.

"Because I don't think that Landon's coming back. Someone needs to step up." Josie addressed.

Chris steps up, "I'll do it."

"No offense, Chris, but no." Josie said.

Chris steps aside.

"If we're not gonna use our powers, we need the old magic back." Josie says looking at Lizzie.

"Pass." Lizzie states firmly.

"What are you all doing?" an angry voice came through.

Everyone looks up to see Vardemus walking into the gym, cane in hand.

"Using your powers. Cheating. I will not allow this." Vardemus scolded.

"We're sorry, Headmaster Vardemus. We just agreed to stop." Kaleb apologized.

"Good. Now, go out there and if I see any of you cheating I won't hesitate to pull you all out of the game."

Kaleb nodded and began walking out of the gym. As Lizzie and Josie were leaving Alaric entered. The girls froze in front of their father.

"Dad." Josie blinks.

"Hi, girls. I just need a moment with your Headmaster." Alaric stated.

Alaric turned from the twins and walked up to Vardemus. The girls leave as Alaric and Vardemus begin to talk.

"What is it, Coach?" Vardemus raises an eyebrow.

"It's Principal Saltzman." Alaric fumed.

"I'm well aware. What do you require from me?"

"I know what you're doing. You're embarrassing my kids. Now ease up in the second half."

"Why must I ease up? I just spoke with them about using their abilities to win."

"Y-You did?"

"Yes. There's no need to worry, Coach-- Principal Saltzman. I've got it all under control."

With that Vardemus walked past Alaric leaving him to his lonesome. Before Vardemus' words can set in Alaric's mind, his phone begins to ring, he sighs as he takes out the phone and answers.

"What, Dorian?" Alaric asks bluntly.

"Ooh. Rude." Dorian points out.

"Sorry, It's been a rough day."

"Well, it's about to get rougher. Hope isn't here and Naomi's nowhere to be found."

"What?"

"Yeah. I'd assume they left together because Hope is Naomi's chaperone. I'd suggest going to the game to find Naomi, she always liked the game."

"Okay, I'll get there now."

"Alright, bye."

Dorian and Alaric hang up. Alaric sighs and walks out of the gym.

* * *

Hope and Landon walked in the woods together side by side. Zero words have been said since they left the school and it felt like the tension thickened with every step. The awkwardness began to get even worse and Landon decided he had to say something.

"Well... this is awkward." Landon thought out loud.

"It doesn't have to be." Hope offers.

Landon internalizes Hope's words and looks down, "Well, in the spirit of not being awkward, I feel like Rafael's forgotten me."

"Trust me, I know what it's like to feel forgotten."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing."

Before anything else can be said the pair hear a yell from a spot in the woods near them. The two jump into action and run towards the sound, once they arrive at the spot they look down to see a bloody and beat up the man. Hope quickly jumps down and puts a hand on the man. Hope looked into the eyes of the wincing and bloodied man.

"It's okay. You'll be okay." Hope looked back at Landon, "Landon! Rafael had to have done this, you stay here and help him, I'll find Rafael."

"Uh... Hope." Landon points to the man, "I don't think that'll be an issue."

Hope looks down to see the man with his eyes closed, the girl puts a hand on the man's pulse and feels nothing.

* * *

The Timberwolves sit on the school bus chatting as they wait for the second half to start. 

"What are you guys doing? The second half is about to start and we're down a QB." Ethan asks his teammates.

Ethan walks further onto the bus' "You want to throw a bit, loosen up?" he asks one of his teammates.

The girl shakes her head as if to say no.

"Okay, well I guess I'm playing quarterback."

"I thought you were worried about getting hurt." Maya implied.

"The Stallions need to worry. 'Cause we're about to take this ball and stick it in the end zone!" Ethan yelled.

All his teammates' cheer.

* * *

The second half has started and the game is in full motion. However, the game was a flop so far as the Salvatore Stallions were losing. Ethan was single-handily beating the entire team. Due to the fact that they were getting smoked, MG decided it'd be fair to ask Lizzie to join. So, MG walked over to the sidelines, but before he could even speak, Lizzie beat him to the punch.

"Don't even ask." Lizzie informs.

"Okay, teenage Tom Brady is killing us. So come ball out? You at QB, me at wide receiver." MG implies.

As MG tries to convince Lizzie to play quarterback she looks over to see Sebastian in the woods.

"Do I look pretty when I play quarterback?" Lizzie asked looking back to MG.

"Are you kidding me? You are the hottest thing I've ever seen." MG gawks.

Lizzie stands up, "Then put me in, Coach." 

Lizzie jogs over to her teams huddle.

"Okay, since you guys can't seem to stop Captain America or not fumble a kickoff, our lead is bleeding like a stuck pig. But fear not. I'm super absorbent." Lizzie says smiling.

"Wow. Uh, the hell's that supposed to mean?" Kaleb asks.

"It means we're gonna play-action, all nines, bootleg left..." Lizzie looks over to wave at Sebastian, "...center deep cross."

MG looks over to see who Lizzie was waving at but sees no one.

"Make that a bootleg right. That's my good side." Lizzie corrects herself.

Kaleb scoffs, "Whatever. As long as we're playing it straight."

"Uh, what do, what do I do." Chris asks.

"You go long, Chris. Real long." Lizzie replies.

"Fine." Chris says pressing his lips together.

"Ready." Lizzie says putting her hand on top of each other.

"Break!" They all said in unison.

The huddle breaks and everyone begins walking to their positions.

"Just try and hold onto the ball this time." Lizzie tells Josie.

"They're gonna go deep. Keep your eyes open." Alaric tells the Timberwolves.

After the game continues, Josie loses the ball to Ethan as he snatched the ball out of her hands, now making his way up the field to get a touchdown. 

"Josie. What did I just tell you?!" Lizzie yells.

"What, you think I did that on purpose? I'm trying to bury these guys, too." Josie snapped.

"Whatever. None of this matters." Lizzie says before running away to Sebastian.

"Lizzie. Where are you going?" Josie asks with a hint of anger in her voice.

"I'm on it." MG says running to get Lizzie.

"No, MG, wait!" Josie yells.

Chris runs up to Josie and turns Josie around by her shoulder.

"I'm playing QB." Chris states.

"What? No, Chris, you're not a football player." Josie tells Chris.

"Let's see about that."

* * *

Hope and Landon walked through the woods side by side. The energy between them was sad, somber. Landon thought he'd be used to death by now but it was still hard especially when he watched that person die.

"That was... scarring." Landon starts.

"Eh. It's just another body to add to the list." Hope shrugs.

"How are you okay with all this death?"

"People have been dying around me since I was literally in the womb. It's nothing new."

Landon's eyes widened, "Or maybe you just don't wanna deal with the emotions that come with death so you push it down."

Hope opens up her mouth to speak Rafael jumps in front of them with glowing yellow eyes. The couple leaped back.

"Rafael?!" Landon yelled.

Instead of answering Rafael let out a growl and lunged toward them. Just as Rafael was about to pounce on them,

_"Icaeus!"_

Hope chanted. Rafael flew back and Landon grew anxious.

"He's gone feral! The full moon must've messed with him." Hope explained.

"What does that mean?" Landon asked.

"He's gotten worse, not better."

"Wh-What?"

Just then, Rafael began to charge toward them. The couple backed up.

"Can't you put him to sleep or something?" Landon questioned frantically.

"I don't know how that spell will affect his psyche. Besides, I don't want to hurt him." Hope answered.

"Then what are we gonna do cause blasting him back isn't a sustainable solution."

"I-I... I don't know."

Landon's stomach dropped as Rafael got closer and closer. Landon closed his eyes out of fear, he heard Rafael get closer, closer, closer, until.

_Smack!_

Landon opened his eyes to see Naomi standing over a knocked out Rafael with a stick in her hands. Hope stomped forward.

"Why are you here?" Hope questions.

"You should be saying 'Thank you'. Anyways, it was halftime and I was hungry but, since I wasted my time doing this I think halftime is over so, bye." Naomi states.

Naomi walks off leaving Hope and Landon with a passed-out Rafael.

* * *

Vardemus stood on the sidelines of the field watching the game. Chris has been able to keep them up a little and has been a good match for Ethan. With every touchdown, Ethan got Chris had one more, every throw, punt, you name it. They would be equal if Ethan wasn't the smallest bit better. Josie walks off of the field and stands next to Vardemus.

"Chris is really good." Josie says surprised.

"Yes, he is very good. My only worry is about his injury, if something happens to his stomach he will be hurt and we will lose." Vardemus sighs.

"Well, I hope nothing happens to him."

Josie walks away from Vardemus and sits on the end of the bench with only a little space on the right of her. Josie grabs a water bottle and sprays some of the liquid into her mouth.

"Hey, Jo." a familiar voice greets.

Josie quickly looks to the right to see Naomi sitting with a malicious smirk on her face.

"Why are you here?" Josie asks.

"I like the games, you should know that."

"I just thought since you don't have your humanity on you wouldn't care. You know, since you can't care."

"I don't care. I'm only here to see you all lose."

"Well as you can see Chris is doing a good job keeping us up."

"I knew this would happen if you put him in."

"What?"

"Yeah, he's played sports since he could hold a ball. His dad put him in basketball when he was five and he really liked it, his dad supported his love of sports and has been his coach forever. Chris played baseball, ran track, football, basketball, soccer, even tennis. He played sports until his dad died. Then he quit."

"Oh... I would've never expected that."

"No one would. He paints his nails, he's skinny. He doesn't exactly scream athlete."

"Yeah..."

"Anyways, since Chris has an injury I thought you would like something to help you keep the advantage if something happens to him." Naomi pulls a brown, old, folded up piece of paper and tries handing it to Josie, "I stole it from Chris' spellbook, he won't notice."

Josie looks to the paper and temptation creeps into her brain for a little before her will came back.

"I don't want it." Josie said bluntly.

"I never said you have to use it, you just have to take it." Naomi smirks.

"I. Don't. Want it."

Just then a large scream came from the field and both of the girls looked up to see Chris standing still with his hands on his stomach as he bled through his shirt.

"Bro. Are you okay?" Ethan asked in fear.

Chris was hardly breathing and barely got out a, "Yeah."

Chris began to stagger back as if he was trying to keep himself from falling. Before he could start to fall back Myles jumped off of the bleachers and ran over to Chris putting a hand on his shoulder and another on his stomach.

"He's okay. There's nothing to see here." Myles voice fell to a whisper and he got close to Chris' ear, "I'm gonna take you to the nurses' office."

Myles and Chris slowly huddled off the field and passed Vardemus on their way off. Myles told Vardemus he was taking the witch to the nurses' office and they left. Back on the bench Naomi looked at Josie and smiled maliciously.

"Are you sure about that?" the vampire asked.

Josie furrowed her eyebrows and snatched the paper. Josie looked down at the paper and began to think about how the small piece of paper could harbor anything on it. The paper could be the key the helping them win or the downfall of the team, she was really gambling with this one.

"What does this even-" Josie looked up and Naomi was gone, "... is it. Nevermind."

As the Stallions and Timberwolves huddle up, Sheriff Mac makes her way to Alaric. 

"Great news. That kid Dennis turned up. A little hungover, but otherwise safe and sound, so I guess I'll go back to looking for those missing dogs." Sheriff Mac informs Alaric.

"Well, you're here just in time. Your son's leading one hell of a comeback." Alaric states.

"Oh, I didn't think Ethan was playing."

"Yeah. Maya got hurt."

The game continued on, starting with a handoff. After Ethan got the ball, he positioned his arm to throw. Kaleb tried to stop Ethan but was tackled down. Ethan continued to try and find someone to throw to, one of his teammate was open and he was ready to throw. Josie watched as Ethan was getting ready to throw, she knew what she had to do, it was all up to her. Josie read the paper, ran over to her teammate, siphoned him, then chanted.

_"Tenebris lapsus!"_

Ethan's arm broke and he fell to the ground, grunting and groaning in immense pain. Josie looked over to the sidelines and saw Naomi smiling back at her, menacingly.

* * *

Chris laid on a hospital bed after his wounds were tended to. Chris breathing was steady, the blood was gone, he was fine. Myles shyly entered the nurses' office and put a hand on the sleeping Chris' head. Chris slowly woke up to see Myles above him.

"Hey, Myles." Chris smiled.

Myles moved his hand, "Hey. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Just a little tired."

"Well, at least you're alive."

"Yep."

There was a small silence as the boys looked into each other's eyes. Before long Myles decided to break the silence.

"Why didn't you just use vampire blood on that stab wound?" Myles questioned.

"Oh, you see, the witch that possessed my friend teleported a cursed knife into her hand to stab me with. The knife doesn't allow whatever it pierces or cuts to be healed with blood, or a spell, or anything. I have to heal naturally." Chris explains.

"Oh."

"Yep. But, I'm healing."

"Good." Myles smiled.

"Yeah. I had a question."

"Hm?"

"Why'd you help me? Like, why were you the first person to jump off of the bleachers and help me?"

Myles sighs, "I can't lose another person in my life."

"What is that supposed to mean."

Myles lets out a small chuckle, "That's a story for another day."

* * *

People crowd around under the night sky as an unconscious Ethan is lifted onto an ambulance via a gurney. Alaric and Vardemus stand side by side as they watch Ethan being put away.

Alaric turns to Vardemus, "What the hell did you do?"

Vardemus quickly turned to Alaric feeling offended, "Are you blaming me for this unfortunate accident?"

"Yes, I am."

"Well, my apologies, Dr. Saltzman. But, I had nothing to do with this and I don't have time for petty squabbles. I am not a child." Vardemus pivoted away from Alaric and left.

Somewhere in the crowd Josie bit her nails and let out heavy breaths. Josie knew what she did that boy, she knew dark magic was forbidden, she also knew that not only could she be punished but she'd also disappoint her father if he found out. That's if he finds out. Josie began to think about what Naomi told her 'If you wanna do something bad you need a distraction' and in order to not be caught here she needed a distraction. Something for everyone else to worry about so she could get away with it. But, Naomi got her into this mess how listening to her help again? It'll only end badly. Still, the words of the vampire rang in her ears, and with every shaky breath, they got louder, and louder, and louder.

Until, "Oh, sorry." a girl said after accidentally bumping into Josie.

It was as if everything froze for a second. Truthfully, Josie was convinced everything stayed frozen but it hadn't and Josie balled up her fist and right-hooked the girl. After Josie threw the first swing everyone else followed suit as a fight broke out. It was a whole crowd of black and yellow jersey's beating on each other.

"Not again." Dorian complained.

* * *

Lizzie followed Sebastian into the tunnels under the school. Lizzie steadily approached in fear that she'd see something... unflattering. But, she became more comfortable when she saw Sebastian just standing on the steps leading upstairs.

"Sebastian?" Lizzie asks walking over to where was walking, "Sebastian."

Sebastian comes to a halt as he was walking up the stairs and sighs, "Elizabeth. Are you following me?"

Lizzie makes her way closer to Sebastian "I told you. Most people call me Lizzie."

Sebastian turns around on the stairs to fully to face Lizzie "I am not most people. Which is why I told you we cannot go down this path."

"But you never explained why. And then you showed up the game, and I'm sorry, but that is a typical dude move." Lizzie says still walking over to Sebastian.

"I had to see you again. You remind me of someone I used to know." Sebastian says walking over to Lizzie now face to face.

"I don't know. I'm pretty unique."

"Yes. As was she. I once thought that she was the most beautiful young woman I would ever see."

"Is that line supposed to work on me?"

"Either way, it is a line that we cannot cross."

"Why not? And no riddles this time."

"Because you bewitch me, Elizabeth."

"Well, duh. I'm a witch."

Sebastian starts moving closer to Lizzie which makes her start walking backward.

"What are you?" Lizzie coming to a halt.

"I am a vampyr." Sebastian smirks, "Creature of the night."

"Oh, thank God." Lizzie lets out a sigh of relief.

Sebastian frowns and raises an eyebrow, "Uh, um... I'm confused." 

"Don't worry some of my best friends are vampires."

"Are we to just be... friends, then?"

"No. Because friends don't get to do this..." Lizzie says as she leans in to kiss Sebastian.

MG pops around the corner to see Lizzie passionately making out with the air. MG raises an eyebrow at Lizzie's... compromising position.

* * *

Chris is laid awake in the nurse's office. He was bored out of his mind and a tad bit angry because the nurse told him he had to stay there overnight. It also didn't help that Chris has convinced himself he's an insomniac due to him not sleeping most nights. Chris knew soon he'd start to fall into deep thought about things that he didn't want to think about so he was hoping the universe would send something his way to distract him from having those thoughts. Well, the universe listened cause just then he heard a knock on the door. Chris sat up and hugged his knees with a blanket over his shoulder.

"Come in." Chris said.

The door opened to reveal Myles standing in the doorway.

"Hey. Can I come sit?" the wolf asked.

Chris moved over and patted the newly formed space next to him. Myles walked over to the hospital bed Chris was on and sat next to him.

"So, uh, how are you feeling now?" Myles asked.

"Physically, I'm fine." Chris nodded.

"What does that mean?"

Chris sighs, "Mentally, I feel like shit."

"Why?"

"My cousin was the only family I had and now she's gone. I can't talk to her like I used to cause she's emotionally unavailable, I can't look at her without thinking of the atrocities she's done, I can't even be around her. And without her I have no one. Sure, I have my friends or whatever but they've all moved on with their lives. Honestly, I feel forgotten and lonely. That's kind of the real reason I made my group of friends, I mean, don't get me wrong Xavier, Noah, and Jed are great. They're true friends. But, I really started talking to them more cause I felt lonely and I can't stand being lonely, or even alone."

Myles sighs, "I killed my dad."

"What?"

"Yeah, the way I triggered my werewolf curse was killing my dad. I was really angry and I just... I got into it with him. And my mom was never around, I had no one. That's why I can't lose anyone else in my life."

"I... I'm sorry you had to go through that."'

"It's fine. I'm past it and I have a much better family now. But, I told you that so you can know that sometimes we make irreversible mistakes and Naomi hasn't made one yet. She can still be saved. And as for feeling lonely and forgotten, I think you should be honest with your friends. And I'm here for you, I'll never forget you. I may not know much about you but I think you're great."

Chris smiled warmly and put a head on Myles' shoulder, "I think you're pretty great too."

* * *

"Dad! Dad!" Josie yells as she runs to the school bus that's leaving the Salvatore School.

The gates of the Salvatore School closes as Josie runs into them. She holds onto the bars of the gates, looking at the bus leave when suddenly her nose starts to bleed.

* * *

Landon is in his room trying to sleep but when he hears whimpers he gets up to see where the noise is coming from. When he got up he sees a frightened Rafael on the ground.

Landon grabs a blanket off Rafael's bed and sets it on Rafael to comfort him.

"Easy. Stop." Landon tells Rafael.

Rafael stops his whimpers but is still shaking. Landon sits beside him on the ground, he wonders what has happened to Rafael since he's been gone but comes up with nothing.

* * *

Josie sits on the steps by the common area thinking of all the events that happened today but was pulled out of it when Landon shows up.

"Hey. How's Raf?" Josie asks.

"Adjusting." Landon answers.

"That's.. more than I can say. I don't know why I'm acting like this. I feel like, I don't know something inside me is just off."

"Sounds like we both had a day. You want to go first or should I?"

"After you left the game... I did something horrible." Josie looks at Landon's eyes "I hurt someone. And I think I wanted to."

"Whatever you did, it wouldn't have happened if I'd just listened to you."

Josie gave Landon a longing look.

"Hope is... different."

"Yeah, I know. We had a fight a while back and it sucked."

"What'd you guys fight about?"

"Don't worry about it. She's just mad at herself."

Landon didn't know what that meant but he decided to respect Josie's privacy and not ask about it.

"Rafael's completely different too. Honestly with all of this change seeing you is the only thing getting me through it." Landon smiled.

Josie looked deeply into each other's eyes and smiled. It felt as if they were the only two people on Earth as their hands met. After a little bit of longing looks Josie leaned in and kissed Landon's soft lips. A little later Josie pulled away still blushing.

"Let me walk you to your room." she offers.

* * *

Josie happily walked out of Landon's room. She didn't get too far before she saw Naomi walking toward her. Josie furrowed her brows and stomped towards the vampire.

"What the hell did you do to me?" Josie fumed.

"Oh, whatever do you mean?" Naomi asked coyly.

"You made me break that boy's arm."

"Made you? You did that yourself."

"I didn't know what it would do."

"But I bet you had an idea. You knew it wasn't good otherwise you wouldn't be so hesitant to take it, and yet you still used it. That's your fault, Josie."

Josie sadly looks down. What Naomi said was true, it was all her fault. But what could she do? She had to win. At least, that's what she told herself. Honestly doing that to win is starting to be a terrible justification.

"Good job on the fight though. I see you took my advice." Naomi smiled.

Josie sighs at what Naomi said.

"Well, I see you're not responding so, I want you to know that... Hope and Landon had a deep talk after your date." Naomi discloses.

Naomi pats Josie on the shoulder and walks past her leaving her to her anger. As Josie stood there with her fists balled anger filled her as she thought about Landon and Hope getting back together. She began to be saddened about the thought that Landon would leave her. Soon, the sadness became a rage as Hope slowly became a threat in her mind. Josie's anger grew and grew until.

_Crack!_

Josie looked to her right to see a small crack on a glass vase sitting on a mahogany table. She looked at the vase hardly as she siphoned a wall near her and watch the glass crack more and more until it shattered into thousands of shards and fell to the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked the chapter! What was your favorite moment? I liked when Jandon wasn't being written :). Feel free to comment your favorite part!
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	4. We Need To Get To The Bottom of It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a bright day at Mystic Falls High but minimal light came through the mostly-covered windows of Alaric's office. Hope sat in front of Alaric's desk looking at Alaric who sipped his dog mug. He was just finishing telling Hope about what had happened at the game yesterday.

"So then we all fought." Alaric finished.

"Wow. That sounds... eventful." Hope gasped.

"Yeah. It was terrible."

"Well, why you were all fighting I was getting Rafael back."

"Oh, how is he?"

"He's not doing so great. Turning into a wolf again messed him up a little more, the isolation didn't help, and when Naomi hit him in his head it probably made it worst."

Alaric sighs, "I wish I could help."

"It's fine, Dr. Saltzman. We've got this."

"Well, I trust you. Now, how are you and Landon?"

"It's... awkward. I feel like I can't talk to him without failing. And, it sucks cause we talked just fine the other day."

"Well, how did the conversation start?"

"I was just walking, then he saw me, then we... talked."

"Well there you go, you need to talk to him under normal circumstances."

"Maybe..."

* * *

At the Salvatore School, Josie looked at the red rash on her arm. The rash was disgusting, it was bright red, had holes in it, it didn't even look like a rash. It looked like she was rotting. She began to touch the rash but didn't get to have much contact with it before she heard knocking at her door.

She darted her head towards the door, "I'm not feeling well, sorry."

"Just let me in." she heard a voice command.

She pulled down her sleeve, deeply sighed, and ran to the door. She opened the door to see Naomi smiling.

"What do you want?" Josie growled.

Naomi invited herself in by entering the room walking past Josie, "I just wanted to have some girl talk. You know."

Josie closed the door and looked at Naomi as the vampire turned around to face her.

"Talk about life." Naomi smiled innocently.

"You wanna talk about life? Let's talk about this." Josie said before lifting her sleeve to show the rash on her shoulder.

"Ooh. That's nasty." Naomi gagged.

Josie let her sleeve down, "Yeah! You gave me that black magic spell, and because of it, I broke that kid's arm, and as you see mine's not doing so hot either."

"I know. It's stupid. You shouldn't feel the consequences for getting what you wanted."

"That wasn't what I wanted."

"If it isn't what you wanted then why did you cast the spell?"

Josie had no words.

"But," Naomi clapped her hands together, "don't worry. I'm gonna help you."

"No. I'm gonna deal with this on my own."

"Whatever."

Naomi rolls her eyes and walks past Josie intentionally bumping her right in her infected shoulder. Naomi leaves as Josie winces and grasps her shoulder.

* * *

Lizzie sits on a table in the auditorium giving orders to a girl.

"I said the Renaissance era, not the Renaissance festival. I can't look like a cosplayer in front of Sebastian." Lizzie complains.

"We could take in the sleeve like this." the girl offers.

The girl reaches her hand out to touch Lizzie's wrist but before her fingers can even reach Lizzie's sleeve Lizzie pulls her hand away knowing she has a rash there.

"Don't. Just fix it." Lizzie gets off the table and spins around to make sure she was facing the table, "I spent a lot of time bettering myself over the summer, and I need you all to rise to my level. Now."

Lizzie turns around to see MG and makes an expression only described as enraged. Lizzie stomps over to MG.

"What the hell do you want?" she asked.

"Lizzie, I just wanted to say I'm sorry." MG apologized.

"Sorry? You're sorry? Last week you made me think Sebastian wasn't real. You made me think I was crazy! And you're sorry?"

"Lizzie I-"

"I don't want to hear it, Milton! You are a sorry excuse for a friend and an even worse excuse for a vampire."

MG was saddened about what Lizzie said to him. His sadness was soon shot down by assumptions because even when Lizzie was mad she never said things like _this_ to him.

MG put a hand on Lizzie's shoulder, "Lizzie-"

MG was cut off by Lizzie pushing him backward with all of her strength. All of the students in the auditorium froze and when Lizzie realized what she did it was too late. Lizzie looked around at the shocked eyes before running out of the auditorium.

* * *

Landon and Rafael walked towards Mystic Falls High side by side.

"You sure we should be doing this?" Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Dr. Saltzman needs to know you're okay. Especially after you were missing for so long." Landon stated.

"Okay."

"By the way, are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

"Okay, well do you speak anymore? I mean, ever since you got back to school, your sentences have averaged three words each."

"That's not true."

Landon puts three fingers in Rafael's face, "That's three words. Look, I know you say you're fine, but you've been through a lot and then you disappeared."

"Yeah, and I'm back now. So it's all good."

"Fine."

Landon taps Rafael's shoulder and enters the school, Rafael follows. Rafael and Landon walk down the halls of the school in complete silence. The halls were empty, the boys assumed class was in session, but, due to the empty hall their silence seemed more prominent than it normally would. The school bell rang and students began to flood the hall. As students began all talking at once Rafael became overwhelmed and hopped around looking at everything fearfully as if his primal instinct kicked in.

"Hey, are you okay?" Landon asked.

No response.

"Raf?"

Rafael ran past Landon and down the hall clunky weaving through the students.

"Raf!" Landon yells before chasing after the wolf.

As the hallway cleared out Rafael pushed past a student and turned the corner. Before Rafael could get any further he froze as if he was in shut down mode and his eyes became a bright red. Landon finally caught up to Rafael and inched his way toward him.

"I shouldn't have asked you to come with me. We can go." Landon gasped.

Rafael's eyes became normal and he turned around giving Landon a menacing look. Landon knew trouble was arising when Rafael began to growl so Landon slowly backed away. Landon's backward walk became faster when he noticed Rafael's legs bending to go for a forward lunge at him. Before Rafael could jump at Landon, the phoenix jumped backward.

_"Scalare!"_

Landon heard a chant from a familiar voice as a gate came by and trapped Rafael behind it. Rafael jumps forward at the gate but falls back due to the impact.

"Hope. You're always at the right place at the right time." Landon accoladed.

"That's funny. I was just thinking the exact opposite thing." Hope demoted.

* * *

Josie sat on her bed in her room. She was still calming down from her conversation with Naomi earlier that day and was hoping to be left alone for the day. Just as she was finding peace she heard the door open. She looked over to see Chris slowly entering the room.

"Hey, Jo. Do you wanna talk?" Chris asks.

"Sure. What's going on?" Josie raised an eyebrow.

Chris walked over and sat at the end of the bed across from Josie who sat at the top of the bed in front of her pillows.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Actually, I made a new friend recently. His name's Myles, he's pretty cool."

"That's nice." Josie lifts her sleeve to show Chris the rash, "I'm sorry to alarm you but look what Naomi did."

"Ew. How did she do that?"

"Well, she gave me a spell at the game and said it gives us an advantage if you were hurt. And imagine my surprise when I found out it was a spell to break someone's bones. Which is dark magic. And now, I have this. All because of her."

"I'm sorry she did that... is there anything I can do?"

"No. But, Naomi has been acting weird. It's like, sometimes she'll do things like she did at the game but other times she'll want to help me fix issues like this."

"Weird."

"I know. You must've seen it, you've talked to her, right?"

"I can't talk to her. She's not exactly... available."

"Right. Speaking of people I haven't been able to talk to, have you seen my sister?"

"No. Why?"

"Because I haven't seen her all day."

"Aren't you guys supposed to be independent now?"

"Yes, but I still at least _see_ her. It's like she's disappeared or something."

"Well, that's... weird."

Josie sits cross-legged and puts a pillow in her lap resting on it, "Well, I was gonna go see if my dad has seen her today..."

Chris stands up, "I'll go with you."

"Oh. Um... okay." Josie plasters on a small smile.

"Cool. I just need a snack."

"What? Why?"

"I get hungry. Now, I have a secret stash of food that I can eat. So, meet me at the entrance in thirty."

"Thirty? Why thirty?"

Chris walks over to the door and looks back at Josie, "Cause, I need to find the stash."

Chris leaves the room and Josie sits there amused with her friend. She always enjoyed her and Chris's talks and his willingness to help even if it is mostly to Hope. Though Chris was always quiet, he and Josie still made time to talk. Maybe being quiet was something they bonded over, or maybe they were just meant to be friends.

* * *

Alaric and Sheriff Mac stand next to each other as they watch the cheerleaders of Mystic Falls High cheer at the school's pep rally.

"Thanks for letting me stay. Last time I asked Maya what was going on in her life, she called me a narc." Sheriff Mac chuckles.

Alaric laughs, "Well, I guess that means you're doing something right."

Alaric and Sheriff Mac's conversation is interrupted when Landon shows up and eyes Alaric to follow him from across the gym.

"I'm sorry. Will you give me a moment?" Alaric asks. 

Sheriff Mac nods and Alaric walks off to follow Landon. Soon, Alaric stood next to Hope and Landon outside looking at a sleeping Rafael who laid in a trunk asleep. Rafael slowly began to awake.

_"Ad somnum!"_

Hope chanted keeping the werewolf asleep. Hope turns to Landon.

"What were you two even doing here?" Hope asked angrily.

"We were trying to tell Dr. Saltzman that Rafael is back. We didn't expect to find you." Landon informed.

Hope and Landon became silent and looked into each other's eyes. Hope sensed a hint of anger in Landon's voice and she hated it. She thought they were taking a step forward together but right now it feels different. As the pair had a stare-down Alaric slammed the trunk, the minute the trunk slammed the group a voice call out,

"Dad?" from afar.

The group looked over to see Josie approaching them holding the straps of her backpack.

"Josie? What's going on?" Alaric raised an eyebrow.

"What's going on is that Chris was supposed to come with me but his friend Myles convinced him not to come." Josie sighed.

"Why'd he convince him not to come?" Hope queried.

"I was getting there." Josie glares daggers at Hope and goes silent for a moment before looking back to the group normally, "Anyways, Myles thinks Chris is gonna die or something and, in his words, 'he can't lose another good person in his life'."

"Yeah, that kid's always had issues." Alaric chimes in.

"Yeah. But, dad have you seen Lizzie?" Josie questions.

"No." Alaric said trying to sound fine but deep down he was worried.

* * *

MG walks through the Salvatore School with his head held high. His day had been going well and he was enjoying his life, all of his troubles had been left behind and everything was going great. Then he felt a body bump into him. MG falls over and looks up to see Naomi continuing her walk as if she hadn't shoved him. He sighed his spirits now broken and stood up. When he looked around he realized he was in the common area. After surveying the room a little more he saw Kaleb sitting on one of the couches reading a book. He sadly walked over to Kaleb and plopped onto a couch across from him.

"I don't know what to do, man. Between Lizzie and Naomi, I don't know if I want to be here." MG sighs.

"Where else would you go?" Kaleb asked bluntly.

MG had no words.

Kaleb puts his book away and sits up, "I got your back, MG. I already told you, you're my family now and if Naomi wants to hurt you she's gonna have to go through me."

MG smiles at Kaleb's words. He enjoyed feeling protected, loved, and enjoyed finally feeling like he had a real family.

* * *

Josie stood across everyone as Alaric finished telling Josie about what had happened that morning.

"So that's the rundown." Alaric concluded.

"Maybe it has something to do with Lizzie. She has been acting weird lately." Josie adds.

"Well, we need to get to the bottom of it." Hope inserts herself.

Josie silently glares at Hope before looking back to everyone else, "Yeah, we need to get to the bottom of it."

* * *

Naomi stood in front of a table in the library. Naomi had been searching for something to help Josie with her issue but kept coming up with nothing. Naomi would be frustrated if she felt anything. As Naomi flipped through page after page, Chris, Noah, Jed, and Xavier entered the library. The boys were quietly laughing together. Chris set eyes on Naomi. After a bit of thinking, Chris walked over to Naomi.

"Hey, Nomi." Chris smiled using the old nickname in hopes to evoke emotion in the girl.

"What do you want?" Naomi asked blankly.

"Uh... I just wanted to talk."

Naomi super sped through pages of books, "Well there. We talked. You can go now, I'm busy."

Chris looked at Naomi as she looked through pages silently. He began to get frustrated with the vampire, 'Why can't she just talk to me?' he thought to himself. He furrowed his eyebrow.

"Why won't you just talk to me?!" Chris asked loudly.

Everyone in the library looked at Chris and shushed him loudly. As the embarrassment settled in he looked to Naomi who looked back at him with no emotion. Just a blank stare. Before he could even open his mouth to say words Naomi turned around and walked away leaving Chris with an awful feeling.

* * *

"Before we wake up Rafael I have something to say." Josie starts.

Alaric, Hope, and Landon turn their attention to Josie.

"Naomi has been acting weird. I mean, it's like she's been slipping up, she even said she'd help me earlier. She like, insisted." Josie explained.

"What'd she say she'd help with?" Hope inquired.

"It was just math. It doesn't concern you." Josie stated bluntly.

Hope rolls her eyes, "I think she's slipping too. The other day she randomly told me she hoped I had a good day.

"Well, I-"

Before Alaric could finish his sentence Rafael practically flew out of the trunk of the car. Everyone watched as Rafael lands behind Josie. Josie spins around alarmed. Hope puts out a hand and opens her mouth to say a spell, but before she could Rafael lunged at her, punching her on arrival. As Hope fell to the ground everyone except Josie fell to her side and before long Rafael ran away.

* * *

Alaric and Hope enter the gym of Mystic Falls High looking for Rafael when they suddenly come to a halt when they see the football players all huddled up.

"Damn. It's gonna be impossible to find him in this crowd." Hope gripes.

"Yeah, just look for anyone acting strange or erratic." Alaric says looking around the gym.

"You mean besides the football team?"

Sheriff Mac walked up to the pair.

"There's a student that needs your help." Sheriff Mac informed.

Soon, Hope and Alaric entered the locker room to see Rafael sitting on a bench hunched over.

"Rafael." Hope sighed as she approached the wolf.

Hope kneeled and put a hand on Rafael's leg. Rafael looked into Hope's blue eyes, they were the only thing that made sense right now.

"Raf? Hey." Hope looked deeper into the wolf's eyes, "Oh, yeah, that's you, isn't it?"

Rafael smiled a little as he peered into her eyes, "Yeah."

Rafael and Hope looked into each other's eyes for a moment. At that moment everything felt normal, it was like old times, it was like they never made the mistake they made. But, Rafael was pulled out of his trance when he looked at Alaric then back to Hope.

"Um... I wasn't in control back there." Rafael explains himself.

"It's okay. I-I can help you. I-I just need to know what you remember." Hope tells Rafael.

Rafael sighs, "All I remember is snatching my chain off and seeing someone looking beat up, like... badly."

Hope internalizes Rafael's words

"Then I ran away." tears fill Rafael's eyes, "D-Did I kill someone?"

Hope quickly moves her hands to Rafael's and softly grasps them, "No, no. It's okay. We got this, Raf."

Rafael's eyes dry up and his expression becomes a blank stare, "I have to die."

Rafael's words were cold and cut Hope like knives, "What?"

"I have to-- I have to die!" Rafael pushes Hope's hands off of his, the force makes her fall back, "I have to die!"

Rafael continues to repeat himself getting louder and louder, Rafael stands up and fear fills Alaric.

"What's happening?" Alaric asks.

Hope jumps up.

_"Ad somnum!"_

Hope chants. Rafael falls asleep and Hope looks at Alaric in confusion.

* * *

Josie and Landon were inside Alaric's office. She was setting up a barrier spell so that Landon was safe from what was going on with Rafael.

_"Inteo."_

Josie chanted hitting a rock to the door frame. She turned around to face Landon.

"Barrier spell." Josie walks toward to couch in Alaric's office, "Means that no one can get in or out without me saying so. Including you."

"Is this about Hope?" Landon asks walking over to Josie.

"Guess she's not the only one that gets to save your life today. So you're welcome."

Landon moves over so now he is facing Josie, "Josie, you know I'm a phoenix, right? I'm not a sitting duck. We have other options here."

"Okay. Name one."

Josie's eyes dart to the ground trying to look away. Truthfully, she didn't have any other options.

"I'm Rafael's best friend. If something is going on, I could help." Landon offers.

"Or whatever got Rafael could get you. That's not an option." Josie states.

Landon steps closer to Josie, "If something happens you'll save me."

"What if I can't, Landon?"

"Then Hope will."

When Josie heard that she felt nothing but anger writhe in her. Why is it always Hope, or Lizzie? Why is it never her? Why isn't she the hero? Josie exhales sharply and storms out the room leaving Landon alone in the room.

"W-Wait, where are you go-" Before Landon could finish the door slammed shut. He was now confined to the room.

* * *

Alaric and Hope walk down the hallway of Mystic Falls high side by side. They had heavy hearts after having to send Rafael away due to what happened to him and they were hoping to get to the bottom of the issue because what he did was very out of character of him. Josie walks up to the pair quickly.

"Did you find Raf?" Josie queried.

"Yeah. We sent him back to campus. He started acting crazy so we set him off. Apparently, whatever spell that was on him didn't wear off until he took off his necklace." Alaric explained.

"Good. I spelled Landon into your office, that should keep him from getting whatever Rafael had." Josie nodded.

"That's assuming it's something that spreads." Hope chuckles.

Josie turns her head to Hope, looking at her angrily, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means: Landon is a phoenix, not useless. Spelling him in a room won't help anything."

"I'm not letting my boyfriend get possessed and hurt someone."

"Boyfriend?" Alaric asks stopping the altercation.

Josie fell silent, embarrassed that her relationship came out this way.

"Look, let me talk to him so at least that way I can convince him to stay in the room without having to be forced." Hope offered.

Josie rolls her eyes and folds her arms.

* * *

Naomi sticks a bobby pin into the keyhole of the door to Amelia's office. She moved the bobby pin around in the keyhole and after a while of moving she realized she was wasting time. She throws the bobby pin to the floor and rips the doorknob off before pushing the door open.

"That's the last time I don't just use my powers." Naomi monotones as she enters the office.

Naomi looks around the room, she looks at the wooden shelves full of different artifacts from what she assumed was over the years. She walked on the purple carpet over to one of the shelves and began searching through the shelves, looking for one item. She had been researching ways to minimize the effects of black magic and she found the Mora Miserum, a sand clock that sucks the black magic out of its subject upon touch and the vampire assumed if anyone had an artifact like that it'd be Amelia.

After a little bit of looking around Naomi walked across the room to a shelf just a little ways behind Amelia's desk. She looked through that shelf hoping to find something, as she looked her eyes set on an old-looking hunting knife with a rusted looking handle. Once her eyes met the knife memories flooded back.

* * *

**MAY**

Naomi walked through the halls of the Salvatore School happier than ever. Her cousin was already doing a little better, they beat the Pure Coven, and there was a party that night. As Naomi passed Alaric's office she heard him talking to Dorian.

"The nurse said that the knife Chris was stabbed with is a cursed knife from the 18th century. It's a dark object that won't let the cut, or in this case stab wound, to be healed with magic. It heals over time." Dorian explains.

"Hopefully it heals soon." Alaric wishes.

When Naomi hears this she hangs her head low and continues her walk.

* * *

**PRESENT**

After a little longer of looking at the knife, Naomi begins to feel emotion creep in.

"Nope." Naomi states before turning around heading towards the door.

As Naomi walks past Amelia's desk she feels her foot hit a bag. Naomi looks down to see the glimmer of the glassy sand clock shining due to the light in the room. Naomi bends down and grabs the bag before standing up.

"There we go."

Naomi walks out of the classroom holding the bag in her arms as if it were a baby.

* * *

Hope enters Alaric's office to find Landon standing in front of Alaric's desk looking out the window.

"Hey." Hope says as she closes the door, "Josie dropped the barrier spell so I could get in." she walks over to Landon, "There's something weird going on inside the school. We have to get you somewhere safe."

"There's nowhere safe." Landon states.

"Okay, well, somewhere safer than here."

"I know you don't doubt me like Josie does. I know you believe I'll be okay. Why are you continuing to act like you don't?"

"Landon I... you're Josie's boyfriend and her top priority is keeping you safe. As her friend, I have to respect that."

"But you don't want that, do you?" Landon starts slowly walking towards Hope, "You want to kiss me and help me fight, not watch was Josie trap me in a room."

Hope lowered her head at Landon's words. Her ex was saying true things and that Hope was afraid to both say and admit to herself.

Landon lifts Hope's head and looks into her eyes, caressing her cheek, "I can give you that."

Hope felt Landon's rough ringed hand against her cheek. It felt so good. But, Hope wasn't expecting Landon to have a ring on, he never wore rings and he wasn't wearing one earlier, but Hope could be wrong.

Hope looked deeply and longingly into Landon's eyes, "Landon... I..."

Hope's speaking ceased as Landon pulled her closer and closer. Hope couldn't believe this was happening she felt so... guilty but so... happy. The pair's lips were inches away from touching when,

_Crash!_

Landon threw Hope's head into a metal filing cabinet.

* * *

Alaric sits next to Hope. She feels the wound on her head as she thinks about what just happened with Landon. How could she be so weak? How could she be so easily manipulated by love? Of course, before she could think too deeply Josie entered the room in a frenzy.

"What happened? Where's Landon?" Josie questioned.

"Josie, just give her a second." Alaric told.

"But you said you were gonna help. Did it get you?"

"No. Landon did get it though."

"That's impossible. How?"

"He was wearing a ring I've never seen before."

"He could've got that ring while you were gone."

"Have you ever seen it before?"

Josie became silent at Hope's words and looked to her feet once again in embarrassment.

Alaric stood up, "The same thing happened with Rafael and his necklace."

"Maybe someone's enchanting jewelry." Hope guessed.

"All we have to do is take it off." Josie said finally finding her voice.

"Problem is if we take it off Landon will try to kill himself." Alaric adds.

"And he's a phoenix so he'll be killing himself for all eternity." Hope points out.

"So we have to find him." Alaric nods.

Josie reaches into her blue backpack and pulls out an envelope with a heart on it from Landon, "We can do a locator spell with this."

Josie pulls the paper out of the envelope, hands the note to Hope, and sits next to the girl. Hope examined the note with a hint of sadness in her.

"A love note?" Hope raises an eyebrow.

Josie snatches the note from Hope, "That's not for you."

Hope looks at Josie's angry expression and sighs before putting her hands out for Josie to hold. Josie looks at Hope for a little bit before linking hands with Hope and beginning to chant.

* * *

Behind the Mystic Grill Lizzie is towering over a human with a knife in her hand. The blonde-haired human squirms and shakes as he leans against a trash can and looks up at Lizzie who looks down on him with murder in her eyes. Lizzie lifts the knife high into the air but before she can do anything she feels herself gain control once again.

"I don't want to do this!" Lizzie yells before her eyes become red and she loses control, "But I have to."

Lizzie lifts the knife higher and higher until she quickly goes down. As her arms bend over and the knife goes lower and lower onto the person, she thinks of her life, her friends, her family, she knew that if she did this they would never forgive her, they'd see her as a monster. But, she isn't the one in control here, quite frankly, she didn't know who was in control. All Lizzie knew is that she had to kill. Or did she? She could stop this. She knew she could gain control and stop this. Just before she plunges the knife into the human man she regains control and stands up straight.

"I-I did it." Lizzie smiles.

The human continues to look at her in fear and Lizzie realizes she has to take care of the situation so she grabs the necklace on her neck and begins to siphon it. After she has enough power she uses magic to launch a nearby trashcan to the human, knocking him out. Lizzie ran from behind the Mystic Grill to see Landon walking towards the town square under the cloak of the night with a shovel in his hand. Flashes of Lizzie giving Landon a ring come to her and she assumes she gave Landon a hexed ring. Lizzie ran towards Landon as he walked onto the town square.

"Landon, take your ring off!" Lizzie barked orders.

"No. I must kill three people then myself. And if you try to stop me I'll kill you." Landon monotones as if he were a robot.

Landon continues walking and Lizzie gets angry. Lizzie grabs the ring that sat on Landon's right, Landon angrily turned and gave her a scowl. Landon rips his hand away and swings at Lizzie with the shovel; Lizzie barely dodges the blow before gripping her necklace and siphoning a bit of it. Lizzie sends the shovel flying backward out of Landon's hand before running up to him and gripping his right hand. Lizzie tried to grab the ring but before she could even get her fingers close Landon bent down and bit her. Lizzie let out a scream of pain before right-hooking Landon sending him back a couple of steps. While Landon was stunned, Lizzie ripped the golden ring off of Landon's finger and dropped it to the ground. Landon's humanity came back and he looked at Lizzie with confusion in his eyes.

"Lizzie?" Landon asks fearfully.

Lizzie grips her necklace and siphons a little bit of it. Lizzie puts a handout and the shovel that she sent out of Landon's hand comes flying through him. Lizzie watches as Landon falls to the floor.

"Never bite me again, asshat." Lizzie scoffs.

Before Lizzie could do anything else her eyes glow red and she felt herself losing control again.

* * *

Myles walks into Amelia's office to see Amelia frantically looking around as if she's lost something.

"Um, Ms. Vaughn? What are you looking for?" Myles asked.

"It just seems I have misplaced my sand clock." Amelia answered still looking for the object.

"Well, can I help you look?"

"No, No. It's fine." Amelia stops looking and sits in her chair, "Let's start."

As the pair begin talking Naomi stands outside the door listening to the whole conversation. Naomi sighs and begins walking down the hall clutching the bag she stole with the sand clock still in it. Xavier walks towards Naomi with his head down, Naomi knew she was nearing him and she just wanted to casually walk past him, but, she knew that was all blown away when she saw Xavier look up at her. Naomi knew she had a bit of a sad expression her face and that Xavier would bombard her about it, even if she wasn't feeling the emotion. Truthfully, Naomi didn't know why she looked sad, all she knew is that she couldn't stop. Maybe she was slipping back into humanity.

Xavier walked up to Naomi and stopped her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Naomi stated.

"A-Are you sure?"

Naomi shoves Xavier with a blank expression on her face, "I said, I'm fine."

Xavier glares at Naomi as he came to a stop, "What the hell Nomi?"

Naomi looked at Xavier blankly; she studied his face, his scowl, his body language, everything. She searched for emotion and expected to find nothing but she found a sliver, just a little bit of... pity. Pity on her ex-boyfriend for still caring so much. Before she could explore this emotion she shoved it down. Naomi came back to her senses blinked before walking away from Xavier, leaving him once again.

* * *

Josie and Hope run into town square side by side.

"Landon!" Hope yells as she jogs up to the phoenix.

Hope bends down to tend to the boy while Josie walks up to Lizzie who's chained herself to a tree.

"Lizzie, are you okay?" Josie asks worriedly.

"Nope. I am super crazy. At least there's a reason this time." Lizzie's eyes flash red, "I have voices in my head telling me to hurt people. And I don't know how much longer I can deny them."

Hope and Josie look at Lizzie in fear. After a little bit of staring Hope knew what she had to do.

Hope sprang up and walked next to Josie, "We need to tighten her chains."

Josie glares to Hope then back to her sister. Josie knew she didn't want to take orders from Hope but what other choice did she have? She had to help her sister and if Hope had the answer, she would take it. Josie nodded, the girls ran to Lizzie and began their work. While Hope is tightening Lizzie's chains, the siphoner quickly turns to Hope and growls frightening Hope a bit.

"Oh, sorry, Hope. That was embarrassing." Lizzie apologizes.

Hope lets out a shaky laugh and walks over to Landon. As Hope stands over Landon's body with her arms crossed Josie walks over to Lizzie.

"I don't understand. If you're possessed, then how are you talking?" Josie asks her sister.

"I don't know. But I-I can feel them in my head, trying to take over. I-I don't know how much longer I have-" Lizzie's eyes turn red, "I'll kill you for killing my leader!"

Josie looks to Hope fearfully then back to her sister, "Lizzie, you have to fight this."

"I am!" Lizzie's eyes become normal then red again, "I'll kill them all, for the coven- I don't know how much longer I can fight. You have to stop me."

Hope walks up to Josie, "What is she talking about?"

"I don't know."

Lizzie looks to the girls and her eyes become red, "You know who I am."

Hope and Josie look at each other and raise an eyebrow.

"Josie, she's fighting it but what if she can't do it any longer?" Hope inquires.

"I have an idea. Take that shovel and kill me." Lizzie commands.

"What? No." Josie tells her sister.

"Yeah, no. Lizzie, that's not an option." Hope disagrees.

"I'm gonna kill myself anyway. It's you do or I..." Lizzie's eyes become red, "I'll break out of these chains and kill you myself."

Josie and Hope looked at each other, they didn't know what to do. Josie turns around and looks at the shovel sadly before turning back to Lizzie.

"No. I can't" Josie shakes her head.

Lizzie's eyes become normal, "It was only a matter of time until you kicked my ass in the merge anyway. At least now you won't have some messed up part of me in your brain."

Josie begins to tear up, "We said we wouldn't talk about that until we had real solutions!"

"This _is_ a real solution!"

"No, it's not!"

Josie turns around and covers her mouth. Tears stream down Josie's face as she thinks about a life without her sister, a life she couldn't live, a life that she doesn't want. Ever. Hope looks around and begins thinking of a way to end this. Lizzie looks to Hope.

"Fine. Since Josie won't do it, you have to, Hope." Lizzie commands.

"What? Lizzie, no. Why are you so ready to die?" Hope asks.

"Sebastian isn't real, I almost killed someone, and I hurt MG. I'm becoming a monster! I can't do this, Hope."

"Isn't there another way to stop this?"

"No. I've been siphoning this stupid necklace all day. It keeps the voices at bay but it hurts. It's so much black magic."

Josie's eyes widen as a plan forms in her head.

"Ugh! All because of some stupid necklace I found at Victoria's base!" Lizzie fumed.

Josie spun around, "You've been siphoning it?"

"Yes."

"Lizzie, I can siphon the necklace."

"No. The voices won't let anyone get too close! I-I'll hurt you!"

Josie walks up to Lizzie, "It's fine, you're chained up."

Lizzie moves her head away from Josie's hand to try and keep herself from hurting her sister while she moves her hand towards the necklace. Josie puts a hand on the necklace and the minute her hand made contact she pulled away.

"It hurts to touch." Josie winced.

"See? Don't do it." Lizzie warns.

Josie looks at her sister as she groans in pain. Josie knew she couldn't just sit by and do nothing, Josie knew she had to help. As Josie looked at Lizzie she mustered up all the courage she could before she gripped the necklace and began to siphon magic from it. The more Josie siphoned the more pain she felt as her skin darkened to a dulled color and her veins grew black. Josie's eyes soon blackened as she siphoned every bit of magic from the necklace. Hope watched as Josie's body became semi-normal and Josie ripped the necklace off of Josie's neck.

"I love you." Lizzie panted.

"You better." Josie says trying to catch her breath from taking all the magic from the necklace.

The twins passed out leaving Hope to herself.

* * *

Hope is in the woods waiting for Landon to come back alive. While she was waiting she thought about the day so far. She thought to about the glares that Josie was sending her fro the almost kiss that happened between her and Landon. But she couldn't get too deep into thought because Landon was coming back.

"Hey." Hope greeted.

"Where are we?" Landon asks sitting up.

"I moved you here. I didn't want you bursting into flames in the middle of town square."

"Okay, well, what happened."

"Long story short: Lizzie was possessed and she... killed you."

"Wow... uh... okay, thank you for moving me."

"You're welcome."

Hope and Landon stare at each other for a bit. The only thing that Hope wanted to do in this moment was kiss Landon on the lips, of course, she knew she couldn't. All Hope could do was what was right.

"You should get back to Josie." Hope says smiling before getting up to leave.

* * *

Naomi sits on the bed of her room thinking about the day. She felt emotion. Why? Was it Xavier? It couldn't have been, she didn't care about him. At least, that's what Naomi told herself. While Naomi was thinking she heard her door open and when she looked up she saw Josie. Naomi raised an eyebrow at the girl's arrival.

"Look, I did black magic and... you said you had something to help me." Josie stuttered out sounding weak.

"You look awful." Naomi pointed out.

"I know." Josie limps towards Naomi, "This dark magic is killing me. Do you have it or not?"

Naomi stands up, "I do."

Naomi walks to the side of her bed and bends down. Josie watches Naomi feel around under the bed a bit for coming back up with the sand clock in her hands.

"What is that?" Josie puzzles.

"It's..." Naomi walks over to her dresser and sets the sand clock down, "the answer to your problems."

Josie walks over and stands next to Naomi, "What does it do?"

"It's called a Mora Mesurem, it sucks the black magic out of you, and all you have to do is touch it."

Josie looks at Naomi and raises an eyebrow.

"Come on. You're not getting any better." Naomi dared.

Josie rolled her eyes and applied both hands to the sand clock. Josie felt rejuvenated as the black magic was sucked out of her and into the glass. Josie's skin lightened and her body felt as though she had slept thousands of years. Naomi clapped as Josie took her hands off of the glass.

"There you go." Naomi cheered.

Josie glares at Naomi, "Why are you helping me? I thought you didn't care."

"I don't care but it's like I said," Naomi's expression becomes dead serious, "You shouldn't have consequences for getting what you wanted."

Josie looks at Naomi for a moment internalizing her words. After realizing she was giving Naomi exactly what she wanted she took the sand clock and left the room.

* * *

MG is walking in the halls of the Salvatore School. He was getting ready to go to his dorm, he decided it was time to call it a day after the day he's had and read comics until he was ready for bed. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he bumped into someone.

"Sorry. Didn't see you." MG apologizes as he continues to walk.

"What did you say to Elizabeth? I am now no longer able to reach her." Sebastian asks which stops MG from walking.

MG turns around to face the older vampire, "Sebastian? But you can't..."

MG is cut off when Jed stops and asks, "Yo. Who are you talking to, man?"

"Oh, yes. No, he can't see me." Sebastian explains.

Jed walks away.

"You're not even real." MG states.

"No, I'm very real. And I need your help."

* * *

Alaric and Hope walk side by side under the night sky. Alaric was walking back to Mystic Falls High and ran into Hope on the way so he decided to walk her to school.

"I'm sorry, Hope." Alaric sighed.

"What? Why?" Hope inquired.

"I should've been there when you guys were going up against Lizzie. But, as always I couldn't give my time to my daughters." Alaric sighs, "I'm so bad at this."

"Bad at what?"

"Being a dad."

"What? You're not a bad dad."

"Yes I am, you even said it one-time last year."

Hope looks away and tries to find the right words to say to Alaric, when Hope finds the words she looks back to Alaric, "Look, the circumstances you're in don't allow you to be the father you want and that's not your fault."

Alaric sighs, "It's cause I was voted out."

"You couldn't control that either. Besides, Victoria outsmarted all of us."

"I mean, you're right."

Hope puts a hand on Alaric's shoulder, "Yeah, at least you're trying to be there."

Hope and Alaric stop walking and face each other, Hope took her arm off of his shoulder. Alaric folds his arms and smiles at Hope as her words hit his ears. He thought about how he was trying to be there for his daughters and even if it is hard he still tries.

"You know, you should be the next school therapist." Alaric chuckles.

Hope chuckles at Alaric's words. After the pair shared a little laugh the conversation becomes serious again.

"I can't believe Lizzie's going through this." Hope sighs.

"Yeah. How did you guys even get to the town square?" Alaric inquires.

"Apparently Lizzie was behind the Mystic Grill trying to stop herself from killing someone, but when she walked from behind the Mystic Grill she saw Landon walking to the town square. I don't really know what happened next but when we got there Lizzie was chained up to a tree and Landon on the ground dead."

Alaric lets out a heavy sigh, "I'm glad she's safe now."

Hope nods.

"Since I can't be there can you make sure to keep an eye on the school? I know you all have a headmaster but he doesn't know everyone like you do." Alaric propositioned.

"Yes, Dr. Saltzman. I got this."

Alaric smiles, "Good. I believe in you."

* * *

Landon is playing his guitar but stops when Josie enters his room.

"It's beautiful."

"Hey." Landon greets as he puts his guitar on the floor beside his bed.

Josie makes her way over to Landon's bed, she sat facing him

"Couldn't find you when you got back. Are you okay?"

"I'm good. I'm worried about Lizzie. I don't know if there will be side effects of the amulet."

"Wait. You did black magic?"

"For the powers of good."

"Okay."

Landon looked deep into Josie's eyes with a little smirk on his face. The look was enough to force Josie to ask.

"What?"

You saved my life today."

"Well, technically Lizzie did. But I totally got the assist, so..."

"Either way it's super sexy."

"It is."

Josie and Landon move in to kiss one another. Their kiss was becoming passionate as Josie takes off Landon's hoodie never separating their lips. When she successfully removes his hoodie she pushes Landon onto his back straddling the boy beneath her. The girl reaches to remove her shirt but is stopped when the boy places his hands on her wrist motioning for her to stop.

"Not yet." Landon sits up with Josie still straddling him, "But soon."

Josie nods and moves in to kiss Landon once more.

* * *

After talking with Alaric, Hope made her way back to the school and Amelia's office. Hope raised her fist and gave the door a small knock.

"Come in."

Hope opens the door to see Amelia packing a bag.

"Hey." Hope greeted.

"Hey, I was just finishing up for the day. Do you need anything?" Amelia asked.

Hope raises Lizzie's necklace which was in her hand, "So, this necklace has given us hell all day and I was wondering if you recognize it."

Amelia rolls her eyes, "In fact I do. Danny just never goes away."

"What?"

"It's an old necklace that me and Danny made a while back. The necklace has an enchantment on it that makes anyone who wears it to kill three people, then themselves. Where did you even find that?"

"Lizzie took it from your old base. It doesn't have magic anymore, though."

"Wait, what? Which twin took it?"

"Josie siphoned it away but she seems fine."

Amelia's eyes widen, "Keep a close eye on her."

"Why?"

"Because that necklace has large amounts of black magic in it."

Hope's eyes widen as she becomes fearful for her friend's safety.

* * *

Naomi lays on her bed as she thinks about the day. Why did she feel emotion? She wasn't supposed to feel anything. She sighed and looked to her left. Her eyes meet a framed picture of her and her father and she knows what she has to do. So she super speeds to the drawer and slides it off, onto the hardwood floor, shattering the frame into pieces.

Outside Naomi's door, Chris hears the crash and his hands that were once going to knock on the door moves back. He stays outside her door contemplating whether or not to enter the room to help her. He soon realizes his help wouldn't be wanted and sighs, he walks away.

Naomi picks up the picture of her father and rips it into shreds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all like the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked when Lizzie and Landon fought, I was SO here for it. Feel free to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out Thursday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	5. I'm Not Going To The Dance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Bad things have always been around Naomi. Despite her father's best efforts, she grew up around things such as xanax, cocaine, and anything her mother could get her hands on. Of course, she never knew what any of it was; she just assumed that her mom was a silly person, because what else could she think? Nowadays, Naomi knows the truth but she still wishes she could go back to simpler times when she thought a little higher of her mother. For the first nine years of her life, Naomi had everything she'd ever want, a good house, lots of toys, a happy home, and both of her parents in her life. However, everything changed after her parents split. At the time, Naomi didn't know why they split, she was just told some things don't work, that was the lie she was told at least.

One question that Naomi didn't have answered when she was younger was why she was sent to live with her father full time. Now Naomi knows the reason why: her mother was a drug addict and it wasn't safe to live with her. She also found that was the reason her parents split in the first place. Still, she went from having everything to a small house, some toys, a happy home, and one parent in her life. Even though it wasn't a perfect situation her dad still made it work, he got her almost everything she wanted, made sure she got to school and still made time for her despite working his ass off to make ends meet. Naomi loved her father more than the world and he was a good man. But, the good people never survive and she found that out early.

The night after Naomi began middle school she was walking with her father to the store. The pair were having their usual happy banter before things went from calm to life or death when the pair heard a gunshot and a body drop from behind them. Naomi and her father turned around to see the dead body of a woman. Naomi wasn't able to register what she just saw before her dad grabbed her hand and ran down the street. The pair got as far as they could before another gunshot was fired into her father's head. The blood of the man splattered on Naomi as she tearfully watched him fall in front of her; Naomi yelled and cried out for help but was met with nothing. 

Later at the police station, Naomi sat wrapped in a blanket when she heard her phone go off, she assumed it was one of her friends or something so she checked it. Naomi was saddened to find that her mother had died of a drug overdose just a little after her father.

With not much family besides a couple of distant cousins and uncles, Naomi was sent to live with the closest family she had: her grandparents. The rest of middle school was filled with nothing but pain as she denied authority, fought other girls, and did nothing in class. Everyone said that Naomi could no longer use her parent's death as an excuse to do what she did but, couldn't she? She was hurting and this was her way of letting it out. At least she wasn't like her mom and did drugs to numb the pain. Naomi's cousin Chris soon came to live with her and her grandparents after losing his parents as well.

Chris was always quieter, reclusive even. Naomi always wished she could've helped him but she couldn't even help herself. Eventually, Naomi stopped caring about her grades and was held back in her eighth-grade year. When she finished middle school she threw a party, it wasn't anything bad just some music, lights, snacks. Even though the party was small and calm Naomi still found an amazing discovery: parties. Parties take her pain away, they distract her, they allow her to have fun and not worry about all the bad in her life. That's when Naomi made a promise to herself: she will attend and throw the craziest parties possible.

After half a summer of partying Naomi was beginning to find herself in the lights, the music, the drinks. One night, Naomi was at a rooftop party and she was extremely wasted. While she was partying Naomi accidentally fell off of the roof, of course, she was too drunk to notice, she just thought she had blacked out. Imagine Naomi's surprise when she woke up in her room next to a blood bag and a note from a man named Mr. Unknown that gave her instructions on how to complete her transition and a guide to vampirism. Naomi was shocked, she couldn't believe she was dead, she couldn't believe she was becoming a vampire, she also couldn't believe she had been drinking vampire blood all night and didn't know. Still, Naomi mustered up her courage and drank the blood.

After a while of being a vampire, Naomi was really starting to feel as though she was getting the hang of it, until one night. Naomi was feeding on a human when her cousin Chris saw her, he was scared and she couldn't bare with the fact that she was causing him fear; she tried to compel him but it didn't work. What could she do? Well, her and Chris had a talk that night, apparently, Chris was realizing he was a witch at the same time she was learning how to be a vampire. The cousin's talk was a type of talk that felt like it went on for centuries but in a good way.

The cousins spent the rest of the summer closer than ever and when school was approaching they knew they couldn't go to normal high school. Well, their prayers were answered when Alaric Saltzman showed up at their door while their grandparents weren't home with an invitation to the Salvatore School. Naomi and Chris lied to their grandparents telling them they were going to a normal boarding school and they were granted permission.

The cousins entered the Salvatore School together and Naomi made friends at every turn. Despite all the bad things in life Naomi went through her freshman and sophomore year finally happy. Now, Naomi has no humanity and doesn't care what comes next in her life.

* * *

It was a beautiful autumn morning as the sun shined brightly over the small town of Mystic Falls. The air was cold and it was slightly cold (well as cold as it can be in Virginia). Chris and Hope decided to take advantage of this amazing morning as they sat across from each other on a seat outside of the Mystic Grill. Chris listened to music and looked at his phone while Hope finished eating a pancake. It was quiet. Peaceful. It was the type of time you spend with someone that doesn't have to be filled with talking or joking. The pair were blissfully quiet. The peace didn't last long before Lizzie stomped up to them.

"Hope! Why aren't you watching Naomi?" Lizzie interrogated.

"Uh, I don't watch her till school starts at eight. It's seven." Hope informs.

"Fine. Whatever. There's more important things right now anyway." Lizzie sniffles and makes an expression of pure disgust, "Landon and Josie are having sex tonight."

Chris slips out a headphone and quietly listens to the conversation.

"Oh. Okay." Hope blinks.

Lizzie gasped and her eyes widened as she lifted her eyebrows, "Is that all you have to say?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Wh-where's the anger? Where's the drama? Where's the complete and utter disgust for my sister's taste in men?! Why aren't you trying to stop them?"

"I want to but I can't. It's their choice and if they want to do that they can." Hope stands up and dusts herself off, "Now, my shift starts in about ten minutes so I'm leaving. Bye, Chris. Lizzie."

Hope walks away from the group and Lizzie groans.

"Who's gonna stop them now?" Lizzie sighs.

Chris looks to Lizzie with a smile on his face, "I can help."

Lizzie raises an eyebrow as a plan begins to form.

* * *

Kaleb was in his room dead sleep with his red sleeping mask on. MG walks into Kaleb's room and makes his way over to the sleeping boy, "Hey." he shakes the boy awake.

"Oh! What?" Kaleb quickly turns around to face MG. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?"

"Can you see him?" MG points to an invisible Sebastian.

"All I see is a dude who can't respect boundaries." Kaleb states resituating himself on his bed.

"I told you. No one else can see me." Sebastian reassured as he hit MG in the back of his head.

"Boy!" MG fumed while he pointed his finger in Sebastian's face.

"MG. You're trippin." Kaleb states.

"Well... I know. I know, I know. But Lizzie-- she-she met this new vampire."

"Oh, yeah. Uh, Sebastian."

"Yeah."

"She's been flapping her gums about him all over school." Kaleb implied sitting on the side of his bed facing MG.

"He isn't real. So I thought Lizzie was losing it, but now I am seeing him. So either I'm hallucinating or this dude..." MG is interrupted by Sebastian flicking his ear.

"Whoa. What the...?" 

"Would you stop touching me?!" MG angrily asks Sebastian. 

Kaleb sees the interaction between MG and the air and wonders what is wrong with his friend.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hey. Hey, buddy." Kaleb stands up to calm MG down, "Um... ask him what he wants."

"He wants us to find his body. He says he's been desiccated in a box somewhere. He's a little vague on specifics." MG retorted.

"I am vague, because, as aforementioned... I am, desiccated in a box!" Sebastian yelled in MG's ear then tries to hit him but misses as MG caught his wrist.

"Oh, my God." Kaleb reacts.

"I'm a pacifist. But if you touch my hair again, we will throw hands." MG lets go of Sebastian's wrist.

"Oh." Sebastian says then tries to hit MG but misses.

Kaleb looks at MG in confusion and concern as he watches him fight the air again.

"Stop!" MG shouts to Sebastian and he stops.

Kaleb sits back down on his bed perplexed by what he just witnessed. MG clears his throat, 

"Sorry." he says turning to face Kaleb.

Sebastian hits the back of MG's head again,"Please tell your far more intelligent friend that I have recently come into contact with blood. Just enough to reach that very limited mind of yours. The blood was rancid."

"You remember that nasty blood foundation we moved?" MG asks Kaleb.

* * *

The students of the Salvatore School are setting up the auditorium for the decade dance that is happening later that night.

Josie walked into the auditorium with a clipboard in hand directing fellow students on what to do, "All right everybody work together. And Lizzie's gonna be here any second. And trust me, you do not want to have only 98 balloons."

Josie sees Landon across the room and winks to him suggestively.

Chris and Lizzie enter the auditorium and see the horrific sight. Lizzie gags before turning around exiting the auditorium, Chris follows the blonde. Across the auditorium, Hope stands atop a ladder hanging streamers to a wall. Naomi walks up to the ladder with a blue sheet in her arms.

"So, I just heard Lizzie gag which means Josie did something disgusting. Do you want me to tell you what they're saying?" Naomi questions.

"Nope." Hope states bluntly.

"Ugh, I want a new babysitter."

Hope looks down at Naomi and begins to scold her as if to say, 'Set the table'. Naomi rolls her eyes and sets the sheet on a table near her. When Naomi is done setting the table she walks over to the ladder that Hope resided on and put a hand on one of the steps.

"So, Josie just walked up to Rafael and Landon. Do you wanna know what's being said?" Naomi inquires.

"Nope." Hope declines as she picks up her pace.

Naomi rolls her eyes and tucks some of her hair behind her ear, listening in on the conversation away from her.

"So, Lizzie is supposed to be staying with her dad in town tonight, but who knows if she will. Let's just hope Josie doesn't get caught by her father on her trip to Mr. Grey."

Hope rolls her eyes and tries to ignore the vampire.

A balloon pops near Rafael and Landon. Rafael freaks out, jumping back a bit.

"Dude." Landon says concerned.

"I'm cool. Just... just a little jumpy." Rafael reassures.

"You've been a little jumpy a lot lately. If all this stuff is too much, you don't have to..."

"Exposure therapy. It's, uh... it's supposed to be good for me."

Landon nods.

"Plus, I want to be able to handle the dance tonight."

"Do you have anyone lined up for the dance?" Landon asks.

"We can talk about dating now?" Rafael questions.

"I mean, yeah. I'm over Hope and our relationship is good again so, it's fine."

"Yeah... I'm over Hope too. And, I'm going to the dance solo."

Across the auditorium, Hope crawls down from the ladder and springs up a little bit as she hits the ground.

"What is so important that I had to come all the way down here for?" Hope asks with a touch of anger in her voice.

"Oh, Landon and Rafael both said they're over you." Naomi discloses.

Naomi's words hit Hope as she thinks about how she had been feeling recently. Maybe she really was being forgotten, maybe everyone really was moving on. Maybe it wouldn't be long until nobody cares about her anymore. Hope deeply sighs and exits the auditorium swiftly.

* * *

Chris and Lizzie exit the auditorium letting the door slam behind them.

"That. Was. Disgusting!" Lizzie gags.

"Yeah, like, why'd she have to wink?" Chris asks in disgust.

"We need to put a stop to this. Now."

"Do you have a plan?"

"No, I thought you had a plan."

"I don't have a plan."

"Then what are we gonna do?"

The boy and girl stop dead in their tracks. They both become silent and begin thinking of what they're gonna do. Lizzie thought deeply about the situation, she was thinking of what anyone else in the situation would do, or what she should do. That's when it hits her.

"Chris, aren't you leading, like, one direction or something?" Lizzie inquires.

"What?" Chris raises an eyebrow.

"You know, your boyfriends."

"Lizzie, you're getting colder..."

"Is your squad willing to help?"

"Oh, yeah. Next time just say that, let's go."

Lizzie rolls her eyes and walks off, Chris follows.

* * *

Vardemus and Josie meet at the top of the stairs of the auditorium.

"Josie, may I make a suggestion about the dance floor?" Vardemus asks pompously.

"Aren't you supposed to be having brunch with your father?" a man says interrupting their conversation.

Josie and Vardemus turn around to see Alaric standing before them in his suit.

"Oh, Dad, sorry I'm too busy with the dance. I'm sorry." Josie apologizes.

"It's fine, sweetie. I can help if you want." Alaric offers.

"Um... no. I-I got it."

"Okay, well how about dinner instead?"

"Yeah, we can do that."

"Well, because of the festivities we won't be doing much today. You can stay in my office with me if you'd like." Vardemus insisted.

"Uh, yeah. That'd be fine." Alaric nodded.

* * *

Hope sat on her bed in tears. She had been crying since she left the auditorium because of what Naomi had said. While Hope was crying Naomi entered the room. Hope looked up as Naomi stepped toward her.

"What's wrong with you?" Naomi asked bluntly.

"I-I j-just think everyone's hap-happier without me." Hope stuttered out through tears.

Naomi raises an eyebrow at Hope's words. Naomi didn't experience futile emotions such as sadness or pain, so she couldn't empathize with Hope. So what? It's not like she cared anyway.

"I wasn't supposed to tell you that." Hope grumbled.

"Why?" Naomi questioned.

"You'll probably use that against me or something."

"I'm emotionless, not vindictive."

"Nice try but, I don't believe you."

"I'll prove it to you." Naomi plops down next to Hope, "I'm taking you shopping for the dance."

"I'm not going to the dance."

"Hope, I need something to do today and as my chaperone, you have to entertain me. So yes, you are going to the dance."

Hope looks at Naomi who looks back at her with no remorse for her command.

Hope wiped her eyes and sighs, "Fine."

"Good." Naomi stands up, "Meet me at my car in thirty."

Hope watched as Naomi made her way to the door, "Naomi, wait."

Naomi turns around and raises an eyebrow.

"Why are you helping me?" Hope inquires.

"Cause, when your not crying you're actually kind of fun to be around. And I have nothing better to do." Naomi answers before exiting the room.

* * *

MG stands beside Kaleb as Kaleb opens the box to Sebastian's desiccated body.

"Yeah, he's real all right... but damn. Dude smells worse than that blood fountain." Kaleb gagged.

"Mm-hmm" MG nods.

"Oh, you're both weaklings." Sebastian nagged.

"Shut up. Your face looks like beef jerky." MG insulted.

"Oh, is he here? Tell him to talk to me." Kaleb advised.

"Oh, as much as I would love that, in my diminished state, I can only appear to the fragile-minded... like you." Sebastian explains to MG.

"Um, he... says that you have to be on, like, the same spiritual wavelength."

"Oh, this is maddening. The rancid blood that you two turnips bumbled on me was inadequate. But with enough fresh blood, I will surely be restored."

MG laughs, "Yeah. No way we're doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Not even if I can give you what you want? Elizabeth Saltzman all to yourself. Without my competition."

"Come on, MG, what's he saying?"

"Hold on. He's just getting to the good part."

"Set me free, Milton, and I give you my word, I will leave this town at once." Sebastian persuaded.

"He wants us to wake him up."

* * *

Landon is sitting on a couch that's in the hallway of the Salvatore School, he's making a to-do list.

"I know I'm forgetting something."

"Uh-oh. Angst alert. Landon's journaling." Dorian says walking by Landon.

"Actually, Mr. Williams." Landon stands up grabbing Dorian's attention, "Um... can I ask you a personal question?"

"Emma and I aren't dating anymore. Okay? And, no. I don't know if she's coming back."

"Actually, I was, um, I was actually wondering how you knew you were ready to um... you know um... have sex with someone new."

"So you and Josie are getting serious?"

"I really don't want to mess this up."

"Gotcha. All right why don't you take a seat."

They both take a seat on the couch.

Dorian clears his throat, "Well, I think when you've found the right person again that you want to take that step with... you just kinda know."

Landon looks at Dorian confused.

"It's-it's, uh, it's like a look, right? It's this look and then... you know."

* * *

Alaric, Kaleb, and MG are in the library. Alaric sits a table and the two boys stand across from him.

"You don't know who this vampire is or how he got down there just that he's been desiccated for some unknown reason, and wants you two to wake him up." Alaric clarifies.

"Yeah." Kaleb and MG say in unison.

"That about-- that about covers it." Kaleb confirmed.

"Unless I'm missing something I would say... let him rot." Alaric told.

"We don't even know what he's doing down there in the first place."

"Neither do I, but it's safe to say that no one is desiccated for being too nice."

"Okay, but that doesn't mean he's guilty. And even if he is, what crime equals that kind of time?"

"Hypothetically, the slaughter of a couple of dozen villages. You're awfully quiet over there, MG." Alaric looks to MG.

"Um... I'm leaning Kaleb's way to this one. Vamps before... non-vamps." MG stutters.

"I know I'm not in charge here anymore. Now if you want my vote, I say don't do anything till you know more about this guy."

"I respect that, Dr. Saltzman, but he said he'll leave town. We could at least give him a shot to keep his word."

"And I vote we hold tight like Dr. S said. We figure out what Sebastian really wants." Kaleb agrees.

"How are we gonna do that?" MG asks.

"You leave that to me." Kaleb looks to MG

MG leaves and Kaleb looks back over to Alaric.

"So..." Alaric began.

* * *

Lizzie and Chris stand in front of Noah, Jed, Xavier, and Myles in the gym. Lizzie looks at all of them then begins.

"Here's the reason you're all here: we are going to stop my sister from having sex!"

"Uh... how does that concern us?" Myles asks.

"That's what I wanna know." Xavier chimed in.

Lizzie begins pacing back and forth, "Because you could all be assets to our plan."

"What's the plan?" Noah quieres.

"Um..." Lizzie comes to a stop next to Chris facing the boys again, "We don't know yet."

"Why does it even matter?" Jed asks.

"Because Landon's ug-"

Chris steps in front of Lizzie, "What Lizzie is trying to is-"

Lizzie steps forward and shoves Chris to the side, "What I'm saying is: Landon's ugly."

"I mean, I've seen cuter guys but he's not that bad," Myles says giving Landon the benefit of the doubt.

Chris looked to Myles. 'Guys...?' the witch thought to himself. Chris didn't know why this detail was so important, all he knew is that it sat with him he just didn't know why.

"Landon _is_ that bad. And we need to stop them." Lizzie states.

"Wow... then let's get started." Noah smiles.

"I like that attitude. Let's do this team! By the way, this stays between us." Lizzie cheers.

* * *

Josie is looking at her white dress for the dance in her mirror when her dad walks in.

"No, I haven't seen Lizzie. She's probably still out buying her Jane Fonda leotard." Josie informed.

"You voted for me to leave." Alaric revealed.

Josie turns around to face her father.

"Why?"

"Because it's what you wanted. Dad, you put it to a vote. You knew that this place shouldn't be run by a human anymore, but you couldn't bring yourself to leave, so you had us make that choice for you."

Alaric chuckled sadly, "That sounds like something your mother would say."

"She also said that your dream was to create a place where we could learn to be ourselves, to be safe. You've done that, so now we have to move on to the next chapter of our lives. We have to learn to do this without you."

Alaric looks at his daughter lovingly, he knows that everything she is saying is right.

"Dad, I voted you out so you could have your own life. Start dating." Josie says with tears filling her eyes.

Alaric chuckles.

"Start letting us go... because we're fine... because of you." Josie inspired her father.

"Definitely that one."

"Yeah?" Josie raised the white dress she was looking at earlier in the mirror, "I picked out an outfit for you, too."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Mm-hmm."

* * *

Kaleb is feeding a blood bag to Sebastian's desiccated body.

"Rise and shine, brother vampire." Kaleb stands up away from Sebastian, "Talk to me like the rain, and I will lie here and listen."

"You're a poet." Sebastian stands in the shadow's cutting Kaleb off.

"Nah, that's Tennessee Williams, bruh. But tell me what I want to hear, and there's more where that came from."

"What do you wish to know?"

"What kind of vamp you are. The kind that rips rabbits... or throats?"

"I am a man who has made mistakes, but if you revive me, I will not make them again."

"Great. Then I'm not interested." Kaleb moves to close the box that Sebastian is in.

"Isn't that what you wanted to hear?"

"You know this school's already full of poseurs denying their basic instincts. I was hoping you were different. Guess not." Kaleb moves to leave but is stopped when Sebastian grabs his arm.

Sebastian chuckles, "I am in this state for the very sin that you desire. I fed on so many humans back in my day that it was on longer for hunger, it was merely sport. The cobblestones they ran red with blood."

"Well, in that case... I'll burn you after the party."

"You deceived me."

Kaleb sips the blood bag.

* * *

Landon paces back and forth in the hallway he was anxious, he wanted this to go well. He really liked Josie, he wanted to make sure she was happy. He wanted to make her happy. Josie walks to Landon looking beautiful and pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Hi." Landon greets.

"Hi." Josie smiles.

"Uh, you look amazing."

"Thank you. So do you."

"Thank you. Um..."

"Um..." Landon hands Josie the corsage.

"Um..." Josie moves to grab the corsage.

"Oh." He yanks the corsage back, places it on the nearby table, gets the wristlet out and turns back to face Josie.

Josie chuckles, "What did you get up to today?"

"Oh, you know, a little bit of this..." Landon tries to put the wristlet on Josie's wrist but it gets caught by her thumb, "little bit of that. Oh."

"Sorry." Josie apologizes.

Landon finally gets the wristlet on.

"Sorry, I-- no, I'm sorry. You?" Landon apologizes.

"Same."

"You okay? You seem..."

"Yeah. I was with my dad. It's fine now."

"Oh. Are you okay?"

"You just... you seem... fidgety."

"No, no, I'm just, uh... I'm just excited."

"Landon. You know we don't have to... dance tonight if you don't want to."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, cool."

The couple awkwardly laughs.

"We also totally don't have to have sex tonight." Landon clarifies.

"Um..." Josie trailed off.

"In case your use of dancing wasn't a metaphor."

"It was."

"Okay, good."

The couple genuinely laughs.

"You're special." Landon softly grabs Josie's hand, "So I want _it_ to be special. That moment we both look at each other... and we both know."

"That sounds nice."

"Let's just enjoy the dance."

Landon moves to stand beside Josie, he gestures for the girl to link her arms with his.

"Yeah. Dance is that way." Josie corrected.

The couple turned around and headed to the dance.

* * *

Almost every student of the Salvatore School was at the decade dance. Some danced, talked, drank, and chatted amongst each other.

Kaleb made his way over to MG, "Hey." he came to a halt in front of MG, "I figured it out. Sebastian's an O.G. cold-blooded killer."

"For real?" MG questions.

"Yeah."

"And I voted to let him out. I... I wasn't thinking."

"Oh, you were thinking, all right. About Lizzie Saltzman. But this is more proof that when you chase her, you're not peak MG, you know?"

"I don't know what to do with that."

"Dance it off. DJ, hit me."

The DJ plays a song and the boys begin to dance.

* * *

Hope and Naomi sat across from each other in an empty Mystic Grills with empty milkshakes on the table. The girls had an amazing day at the mall and were now winding down the festivities for the night.

"I just can't believe you didn't get the lingerie." Naomi chuckled.

"It was so inappropriate, Naomi." Hope smiled.

"You gotta win Landon back somehow."

The girls share a hard laugh before winding down a little.

"How can you be so normal without emotions?" Hope asks.

"It's easy, like this."

Naomi lets out a hard laugh before her face became a cold, serious stare. Hope couldn't do anything but stare back at Naomi in awe of her switch. Naomi soon saw the twinge of fear in Hope's eyes and relaxed her face.

"Sorry. I actually am having fun." Naomi discloses.

Hope smiles and calls the waiter to them. Soon, Hope and Naomi have a new milkshake and were sipping slowly. After a little bit of drinking Hope decides to check her phone. Once Hope checks the time she looks back up at Naomi.

"We gotta head out." Hope informs.

"Okay." Naomi nods.

"I actually had a really good time, Naomi. Thanks for taking me out for a while. I needed it."

For the first time in a long time, Naomi cracks a genuine, from the heart, smile. Hope sees the smile and knows it's real, not something that Naomi just plastered on to seem normal, this was really real.

"That's a real smile. See, I know the real you is in there somewhere." Hope smiles.

Naomi's smile fades as she remembers the deal and how Hope was violating the terms. If Naomi felt anything she'd feel complete and utter anger with Hope right now, nothing less, nothing more. Naomi super speeds to the bartender and looks into his eyes.

"Forget everything I'm about to do." Naomi compels.

Hope watched as Naomi yanked the bartender from behind the bar and got behind him facing her.

"You caused this Hope." Naomi's fangs grew and her eyes become bloodshot red as black veins formed under her eye, "Remember that."

Naomi gripped the boy and aggressively sank her fangs into the man's neck and sucked his blood. Hope watched the pained expression on the man's face as Naomi drank a significant amount of his blood. Naomi took her teeth out and let go of the boy, as he fell to the ground her eyes became normal.

"You have one more time to not honor this deal before I start killing people." Naomi warned before super-speeding out of the Mystic Grill.

Hope quickly ran over to the man to help him.

* * *

The lively dance continues and everyone is having a good time. As Landon and Josie dance in front of each other Rafael scoots up to them.

"Hey, how're you guys doing?" Rafael inquires.

"We're fine. How's your dance going?" Landon asks.

"I'm fine. I know the DJ, do you want me to play something to get you guys in the mood?"

Josie chuckles and puts a hand on Landon's chest, "I think we're good but thanks, Raf."

"Anytime." with that Rafael walks away from them.

* * *

Naomi enters her room in a frenzy. How could Hope do that? How could Hope play her like that? Rope her in just as she's about to bite the bait rip her?! Naomi was beginning to get furious, but she knew she couldn't feel. She knew she didn't want to feel. She had to push it down. She had to push everything down. All the emotion she had been feeling? Push it down. Any emotion she will feel? Push it down. She pushed everything down except for one: anger. She knew she'd have to have anger in order to do what she was going to do. She will get Hope back for dishonoring the deal. She will not be played for a fool ever again.

* * *

The lights became blue and the music slowed.

Landon gestures for Josie to hold his hand so they begin slow dancing. The girl rests her head on the boy's shoulder as they sway to the music. The closeness felt amazing between the two. It was a nice and warm feeling, and both of them knew what was coming next.

"Do you maybe want to take dance somewhere else?" Landon asks.

Josie lifts her head up to look at Landon in his eyes, "Only if that's a metaphor." 

Landon nods and leans in to kiss Josie.

Chris and Lizzie arrive at the dance. Lizzie looks around the dance floor to see Josie and Landon exit the dance floor.

Lizzie became very determined to stop the situation, "Come on, we can still save this."

Lizzie tries to follow the pair but Chris puts a hand on her shoulder, "No, Lizzie. It's done. Let's just let it go and try to have a good time."

Lizzie deeply sighs, "Fine." she felt slightly defeated but she knew Chris was right. It was time to let it go. And she was ready to accept that.

Myles steps next to Chris, "Since the plan didn't seem to work. Do you wanna dance?"

Chris' heart fluttered at Myles' proposition. Chris didn't know why it was just a friend asking him to dance. It was nothing new. But, Chris and Myles didn't always feel like friends. Even though he hadn't known Myles long he still knew their interactions were more than friendly.

"Sure." Chris accepted feeling himself blush as he grabbed Myles' hand and walked onto the dance floor.

The group disperses and before Xavier can get onto the floor he's stopped by Lizzie putting out a hand in front of him.

"Uh, Lizzie? Can you let me go?" Xavier raises an eyebrow.

"No. You're gonna help me go through with the plan." Lizzie smirked completely changing her mind.

* * *

Landon and Josie are making out as they burst into the twin's room. The couple walks backward to Josie's bed.

 _"Motus."_

Josie chants. The door slams shut. The couple has made their way onto the bed. Landon on top of Josie and their lips never separating. Before the kiss deepens Landon sits up to take his shirt off but before he removes his shirt Josie stops him.

"Do you have a condom?" Josie asks.

Landon's eyes widen, "I knew I forgot something." he gets up off the bed, "Do not move. I'll be right back." he instructs the girl as he runs out of the room to begin his search to find condoms.

* * *

Noah is walking to his room to call it a night. The dance was fun and all but it just wasn't his type of thing, he was only there for Chris and Lizzie's plan which failed. However, he enjoyed being around people than being lonely. 

"Noah!" Landon shouted stopping Noah from walking to his room.

Noah looked over to Landon.

"Never mind." Landon runs away.

Noah sighs and continues to walk to his room.

"So, your name's Noah, then?" Sebastian confirms.

Noah stops walking, turns around to see who said his name.

"Yeah. Who are you? Do you need anything?" Noah spoke.

"Yes. What I need, Noah is... a friend."

* * *

Lizzie sits alone at a table as she watches people dancing. She takes a sip of the drink in front of her and sighs feeling mostly defeated. Sure, she got Xavier to do at least part of her plan but she's thinking of what if Josie finds a workaround. Lizzie really didn't want her sister's first time with a guy to be with someone even she knew Josie wasn't sure about. As Lizzie's thoughts concluded Hope approached her.

"Hey, have you seen Naomi?" Hope asked.

"No. Did you check her room?" Lizzie questioned.

"I would but she's mad at me, so invading her privacy isn't something I'd want to do. That's why I'm hoping she's somewhere around the school."

"Oh... what'd you do?"

Before Hope could open her mouth to speak Chris walked up to them.

"Hey, guys. I just got done dancing and let me tell you..." Chris smiles, "it was so much fun."

"That's nice. Who'd you dance with?" Hope inquired.

"Oh, my friend Myles. I met him on the first day, he's super sweet and cool. He even helped me at the game."

"That's good, Chris. It sounds like you're meeting the right people."

"Yeah. But what's going on with you, Hope?"

"Actually, we need to find Naomi."

"I'd rather dance."

"I'd rather die." Lizzie groaned.

"No, we have to. Look, I accidentally messed up our deal and she fed on a bartender. Now she's probably plotting to take over the school or something, so we need to find her to ensure the safety of others." Hope informed them all.

"Wow." Chris gasped.

"Oh my god." Lizzie snorted.

"Exactly. That's why we need to split up and find her. Now!" Hope told them.

"Fine." Lizzie rolled her eyes and stood up.

Myles walked up to Chris and tapped him on the shoulder. Chris spun around to face the werewolf.

"Hey, Chris. Do you wanna go dance again?" Myles asked with a slightly red face.

"Uh... I need to find my cousin. Sorry." Chris sighed.

"It's fine. I could come with."

"Sorry, loverboy but this doesn't concern you." Lizzie grab's Chris's wrist and starts walking out practically dragging him as if he were a child, "Let's go, Chris."

* * *

Dorian is putting away books back on the shelf because students either forgot to put them back, didn't feel like putting them back, or forgot to take them.

"Mr. Williams, sorry to interrupt." Landon apologizes.

"All good, Landon." Dorian reassures.

"Do you remember what we talked about earlier? You were right."

"Then, boy, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Uh, asking to borrow your car keys. Cause I need to make a quick run into town."

"What?" then is clicks for Dorian, "Oh. In that case, you don't want my car keys. You want the keys to the nurse's office. You'll get what you're looking for in her desk." he pulls the key out of his pocket and hands it to Landon.

"Thank you."

* * *

Josie silently lays down waiting for Landon to return. But the silence is ruined when she hears scribbles coming from her ex's book.

"No. Not now, you stupid rats." Josie sighs getting up from the bed to get the book from under her dresser, "I've been listening to your tiny little rat claws for months now..."

As Josie caressed her ex's book memories began to flood back to her. She thought about every little kiss, every time they slept together, all the love letters, the serenades. Josie thought about how Penelope made her feel like a queen in a castle or a princess at a ball with every touch, every kiss, every text, everything. She remembered how she felt as though she wanted to be with Penelope forever, to grow old with her, to have kids with her. Of course, it could've been her just being young and dumb but, love like that isn't something that just goes away or disappears. Penelope chose Josie every time and never made her feel like a second choice or afterthought. Penelope made Josie feel like she was the only thing that mattered in this great big world. 

As Josie thought about everything she realized this wasn't what she wanted and she had to tell Landon the truth. 

* * *

Landon runs through the halls of the Salvatore School with Dorian's key in his hand. As he runs he thinks about he has to get back to Josie quickly, as quickly as he can. Landon approaches the nurses' office but stops dead in his tracks when he sees Hope outside the nurses' office.

"Uh... hey." Landon greeted.

"Hey..." Hope trailed off.

"Uh, what were you doing in there?"

"Oh, I was just passing by."

"Oh... cool."

"Yeah..."

The couple fell into an awkward silence for a while before Hope broke it with,

"Okay. Bye."

"Yeah, bye." Landon waved.

Hope walked past Landon leaving him to his thoughts. Landon began to think about him and Hope's first dance, the way she looked into his eyes and confidently lead even though he was terrible at dancing. When he danced with Hope so long ago he felt like the world had a spotlight on them and only them, no one else. He soon thought about their relationship, the way Hope would smile every time she saw him no matter her mood, the way they would have talks at night, the way he would play songs for her. He thought about how Hope pushed him out of his comfort zone and made him a better person because of it. It was all of these thoughts that led him to a conclusion that he didn't want to do this and he had to tell Josie the truth.

* * *

Landon enters Josie's room to see the girl sitting on her bed. Josie and Landon both knew they had to tell something to the other.

"I have something to tell you..." Landon began.

"Me too." Josie told.

Landon came and sat next to Josie, "Okay, you go first."

"No, you can."

"How about we go at the same time."

"I like that idea."

"Okay, here it goes..."

"I think we should break up." the pair said in unison.

Josie and Landon looked into each other's eyes with mutual understanding.

"At least we were on the same page." Landon lightly chuckled.

"Why'd you want to break up?" Josie asks.

"I just feel like we don't really... work. Like, we're both obviously rebounding from relationships and you know what they say..."

"Rebound romances never work."

"Yeah. Now, are you one of the smartest, kindest, most badass girls I've ever dated? Yes. Do I know why you picked me out of all people? No."

Josie was flattered by Landon's words in this bittersweet moment.

"But, do I think it was inevitable? Kind of." Landon finished.

"Yeah, you're right. We probably wouldn't have lasted." Josie agrees.

"So... friends?"

"Yeah." Josie smiles, "Friends."

Landon smiles, "Good."

* * *

Chris and Lizzie walk down the hallway of the Salvatore School when they see Josie's door open. After the door is ajar they watch as Landon exits holding his vest and his shoes in his hand. Chris and Lizzie put on a smiling face as Landon walks by, but, once Landon's out of sight the pair's expressions become that if pure disgust.

"Gross!" Lizzie gagged before running to the nearest community bathroom 

"Lizzie, wait." Chris says trying to catch up to her.

* * *

Hope enters Naomi's room, Naomi sits up and looks blankly at Hope.

"Look, I tried to respect your privacy and not come in here until I had to but I was getting impatient and-"

"Get out." Naomi cut Hope off.

"What?"

"Get out."

"Naomi I-"

"No. Get. Out."

"Naomi, I'm sorry."

Naomi stands up and walks towards Hope, "I may not feel emotion but I am allowed to ridicule you for breaking our deal. Now, get out before I do something we'll both regret."

Hope is now face to face with Naomi, Hope looks into Naomi's emotionless eyes. Hope began to realize that her friend was truly gone and what she saw today was merely a mirage. Still, mirage or not, Hope can't shake the fact that she truly did enjoy her time with her and hated herself for ruining it. Hope turned around and left Naomi's room.

* * *

Hope trotted out to the Old Mill in hopes of being able to release but she was surprised to see a raging party before her. She looked around and saw a plethora of people dancing, laughing, and drinking. While scanning the area Hope's eyes met Rafael who was talking to his friends, Hope wanted to go up to him but he looked occupied so she was just planning to leave. Before Hope could walk away she saw Rafael look at her, before long Rafael had walked over to her.

"Hey, Hope." Rafael smiled.

"Hey." Hope greeted.

"Uh, do you wanna party with us?"

"Um, yeah. Also, I'm sorry. F-For everything."

Rafael sighs, "Hope, you're one of my best friends. And, it's just high school. People are bound to make mistakes. Now, come on."

Hope smiled as she took Rafael's hands and walked over to his friends

* * *

MG is on facetime with Kym as he walks through the school.

"The witches are a little drunk." MG tells Kym as he shows her the witches.

Kym laughs, "You do realize you go to the dopest school of all time, right?"

MG chuckles.

"You should probably tell that to the dude behind you in the black coat."

"Who are you talking about?"

"The one staring at you."

MG turns around to see Sebastian wiping blood off the side of his mouth but before he can say anything the older vampire super speeds away.

* * *

Alaric sat at the bar with a drink in front of him and a drink beside him. Alaric was awaiting Vardemus' arrival, he had called him there to talk over a drink and didn't expect him to be late. Soon, the door opened and Alaric looks over to see Vardemus entering the bar. 

Vardemus comes and sits next to Alaric, "Hello, Dr. Saltzman."

"Hello." Alaric nodded.

"Might I ask why you've summoned me here?"

"Well, I just wanted to talk over a drink."

"Talk about what?"

"You've been doing a good job at the school and I think the kids really like you."

"Is this just a meeting to discuss my accomplishments as Headmaster?"

"No. This is me telling you that you're responsible for people I love. Remember that."

"Dr. Saltzman I understand that and I vow to keep the school, and your daughters, safe."

"Good."

Alaric smiles and the men lightly cling their drinks together before drinking a little. That night at the Salvatore School was filled with happy endings and the first happy night in a long, long time. It was as if for the first time ever everyone was happy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all liked the chapter! What was your favorite part? My favorite part is every Lizzie and Chris scene. Feel free to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	6. How Are We Gonna Stop Her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

"I just think that I should care more." Josie said.

It was a nice Autumn day as Josie sat in front of Amelia's desk in her bright office in a yellow tucked-in wool sweater, a Salvatore School pin, long socks, and a skirt. Josie decided that after her and Landon's break up she had to talk to someone. Luckily, Amelia was a 500-year-old witch that had wisdom beyond her own... and she was the school counselor.

"It's okay, Josie. Your emotionless state might be a sign that you just weren't into it." Amelia prompted.

"Still, I feel like I wasted his time." Josie sighed.

"You didn't waste his time, Josie. From what you told me it was a mutual break up."

Josie sighs, "Yeah. It was. A part of me hopes he doesn't get in a relationship right now."

"Why?"

"I just think it'd be... too soon."

"Well if he knows how you feel then he won't get in a relationship right now. He wouldn't want to hurt you, Josie."

A small smile creeps onto Josie's face at Amelia's comforting words, maybe Amelia was right. Maybe Josie had nothing to worry about.

* * *

Kaleb reluctantly walked his sister through the Salvatore School, ee was giving her a tour of the school. 

"All right, now, on to our tour's final and most important stop-- the front door. Use it to get back to your hotel. Love you." Kaleb says leading Kym to the front door of the school.

"Quit playin'. I came for Commonwealth Day. Now show me the cool stuff." Kym demands.

"This is school. There's nothing cool to see."

"It's a school for vampires, witches, and werewolves, so there's no way I'm leaving without seeing something, Harry Potter."

"Kym? For the last time, there is nothing... to... see." Kaleb stresses.

As if on cue, a girl flies through the entrance of the Salvatore School and lands on the ground of the common area. After Kym and Kaleb come down from the rush of being startled, Naomi walks into the school and stops next to Kym.

"Hi. I'm Naomi." Naomi introduced herself.

"Uh... hi?" Kym raised an eyebrow.

The tanned girl that Naomi was fighting stood up.

"Give me back my bracelet!" she ordered.

"It wasn't your bracelet, to begin with, it's Jasmine's and now it's mine!" Naomi thundered.

Naomi's eyes became bloodshot red and black veins formed around her eyes before Naomi launched herself forward. After Naomi super speeds to the tan girl, the girls began throwing punches. Kym becomes both worried and marveled as she watches the girls attack each other in super speed. People began to crowd around to watch the fight before Lizzie soon walked up next to Kym and groaned.

"Naomi, stop!" Lizzie commands.

What was once a colored blur of two girls exchanging blows soon became a clear image of Naomi holding the tan girl above the floor in a choke-hold.

"You can't tell me what to do." Naomi states.

MG super speeds up next to Lizzie, "Put Carmen down, Naomi."

Naomi looks at MG with challenging eyes, MG was obviously afraid but he had to push it back. After giving MG a stare down Naomi throws the girl to the ground and slightly sticks the pointy part of her black heel into the girl's neck causing blood to gush out. Everyone gasps and in the crowd different, "Oh my god!" and "Stop" are heard.

"Naomi, Stop! You're hurting her!" MG yells.

Naomi scowls striking fear into MG. Naomi takes her foot from the girl and yanks her up before snapping the girl's neck. The vampire fell out onto the ground and Naomi stares darkly at MG and Lizzie. 

"Is this what you wanted?" Naomi asks before speeding off leaving a baffled crowd.

* * *

Everyone in town including some students of the Salvatore School and Mystic Falls High was helping set up Commonwealth Day. As were Alaric, he was one of the few adults around.

"Sheriff. Hey." Alaric says stopping a fast walking Sheriff.

"Oh. So you can see me? I thought maybe I was invisible after you ghosted me last week." Sheriff Mac ranted.

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that. You know, something came up with my daughters. And I'm learning to let them go and figure things out on their own." Alaric laughs, "I really suck at that."

"I know the feeling."

"Uh, you know..." Alaric was cut off by the Sheriff's radio and her leaving.

As the Sheriff walked off Alaric did the same, he passed Hope and Ethan they were also helping set up Commonwealth Day.

Hope accidentally cut her finger with paper, "Ow! I have done that, like, five times. Is it possible to die from a paper cut?"

"Careful. Let me see." Ethan says concerned.

Hope showed him her paper cut.

"Yeah. It's fatal." Ethan jokes.

"Hey, you two quit slacking. Tomorrow's festivities will not be thrown off by hormonal teenagers." the councilman says angrily.

"Sure thing, Councilman." Ethan responded.

The councilman walks off.

"Ruined by an old, white guy politician, though? Totally plausible. How did that guy win an election?" Ethan acknowledged.

"Democracy... isn't what it used to be." Hope explained.

"Hey, I got to head to practice."

"But you're hurt."

"I can still help the team win."

"Gotcha. See you after?"

"Not unless you're coming to physical therapy with me. My life's a real party these days." Ethan begins to walk away but stops, "You ever want to see me, you should probably just ask me out."

After Ethan left Lizzie approached Hope.

"You're supposed to be watching Naomi." Lizzie told Hope.

"I've given up on her." Hope disclosed.

"You still have to keep an eye on here."

"She's not my responsibility anymore."

"Hope Mikaelson, she is literally your responsibility."

Hope slams her hands on the table and looks at Lizzie, "I can't do it, Lizzie. I can't. I messed up the deal and if I do anything else she could hurt someone, and I can't allow that. So no. She's not my responsibility anymore, even if she should be."

"I get that Hope, but this is the third fight Naomi has been in this week and it's only Tuesday. I'm afraid she'll really hurt someone. Or worse..."

"She won't do that. That violates the deal."

Lizzie scoffs, "You almost broke the deal, who knows what she'll do."

"I talked to her and she won't do anything if we don't."

"Fine. Whatever. Enjoy flirting with the muggle." Lizzie teased before strutting away.

A little further from Hope, Rafael and Landon were moving a table through the town square. As the pair walked Rafael caught Hope in his gaze, he unknowingly froze and began to stare at the girl. As Rafael starred he thought about the time they shared at the dance, the way she made him happy, the way they happily smiled, and danced under the moonlight. Rafael knew what these feelings were because he's had them before. He knew his feelings for Hope were creeping back and he was finally gaining hope that he could be with her due to her being single. The table begins to slip from Rafael's grip.

"Uh, Raf. Phoenix's don't have super strength." Landon says as he strains to keep the table up.

Rafael lifts his end of the table back up and continued moving the table with Landon, "Sorry. I was distracted."

"What had you so amazed that you almost risked the councilman screaming at us?"

Before Rafael answers his brother's question he thought about Landon. He thought about Landon and Hope's love and how if Rafael were to tell Landon how he felt it would hurt him.

"Uh... there was this girl that walked past Hope. She was kinda cute." Rafael lied.

Landon looks over and sees nothing but Hope, "Where is she?"

"Uh, she was jogging by. I barely saw her face."

"That's too bad, it'd be good for you to date someone new."

"That wouldn't be a good idea. I'm still not all the way good."

"But, having someone who loves you as more than a friend could help."

Rafael chuckles, "Landon, you're crazy."

* * *

Naomi enters Alyssa Chang's room, "I need your help."

Alyssa looks up at the vampire in her doorway and raises an eyebrow. As Alyssa stood up, she wondered what Naomi could need. Especially because the girls never talked.

"Why should I help you? You've done nothing for me." Alyssa states.

"Because I spared your life."

"When?"

"Right now."

Alyssa Chang raised an eyebrow at Naomi's comment. 'What a stupid thing to say' Alyssa thought to herself.

"See, what you don't know is that I could snap your neck." Naomi super speeds towards the witch and stops right in front of her face, "Just. Like. That."

Naomi looked into Alyssa's terrified eyes. She knew her plan of intimidation worked and she would get what she wanted. And if she didn't? She'd do what needed to be done so she could.

"Fine." Alyssa sighed, "You win."

"Good. And, I think you'll like my plan. We're trapping people you don't like." Naomi smirked.

* * *

The moon was prominent as Sebastian followed a lady in a tunic through the woods. When Sebastian got close enough to go in for the kill, the lady turns around and sprays vervain into Sebastian's eyes.

"Oh, my eyes! What is this sorcery?!" Sebastian yelped.

"It's called "vervain" I think." Kym guesses.

Sebastian groans.

"It's cool, right?" Kym asked cheekily.

Kaleb and MG super speed to Sebastian and push him against a nearby tree.

"You did great!" MG congratulated Kym.

Kym smiles.

"Unhand me, you turnips. I had one drink." Sebastian states.

"Yeah, that drink's name was Noah."

"I did not even kill your precious Noah. Now unhand me before I-" Sebastian is cut off by Kaleb snapping his neck.

"Damn. Why'd you do that?" Kym asks.

"Maybe because I'm tired of people giving me lip today." Kaleb says walking toward Kym, "I don't care how geeked out you are over Commonwealth Day. I'm putting you on the next bus out of town."

"But I had this costume handmade."

"Yeah, don't even get me started on all the things wrong with you wearing that."

"I personally believe support a woman's right to wear whatever she wants." MG added.

The siblings look at MG before looking back to each other as if he didn't say anything.

"Stop trying to marsh my mellow, Kaleb. I'll leave when I'm good and ready." Kym asserted.

"Oh. I'll call Mom." Kaleb threatened.

"I'll call Dad."

MG laughs at the bickering happening between the brother and sister.

Kaleb mocks MG's laughter, "Don't you got something else to do other than be here and chime in on matters that don't concern you?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna grab Sebastian and I'm gonna take him to Dr. Saltzman's office at the high school until Commonwealth Day's over. It's empty so no one should be there when he wakes up. I also have a history paper I'm late on so it'll be a perfect time." MG declared.

"By 'no one' you mean Lizzie, right?"

MG looks blankly at Kaleb.

"You haven't told her." Kaleb guessed.

"I was... I was gonna..." MG trailed off.

"Dude, come on."

"She's gonna be so pissed at me."

"Is that the blonde girl from this morning?" Kym asks with a hint of jealousy.

"I sort of accidentally made her think she was having a psychotic break." MG explains to Kym. 

"That's not gonna go well."

"I know."

* * *

The councilman walks through a dark alleyway on the phone. As the councilman shouted atrocities at the man over the phone he accidentally drops his phone. The man bends down to get it but when he looks up he sees a shadowing figure of what he presumes is a girl. The startled councilman slowly stands up.

"I'll call you back." he hangs up the phone, "Festivities aren't until tomorrow."

The figure began breathing heavily and fear begins to grow in councilman with every breath. The man soon realizes the situation is dire and begins stepping backward. The figure began to step forward with purpose and the councilman broke into a run, except, when he turns around his eyes met the girl. At least, the councilman assumed it was a girl. The lighting was dark but there was enough light to make out a couple of things on the girl, the bloodshot eyes, the fangs, the black curled hair. The councilman soon realized he was looking at a monster but before he could react the monster stuck it's fangs into him and began to suck his blood.

* * *

The next morning was bright without a cloud in the sky. The air was crisp with cold drafts blowing through every now and again signaling it was autumn. It would've been the perfect start to Commonwealth Day if Lizzie and Hope weren't standing in an alleyway over an unconscious, bleeding from the neck, councilman.

"When you said you wanted to hang out today this isn't what I had in mind." Lizzie scoffed.

"Well, it's important. Alyssa Chang said she saw this one her morning jog and I knew you were up. We're lucky we saw this before anyone else." Hope explains.

"Wait, how'd you know I was up?"

"You do yoga every morning. Everybody knows that."

"I was hoping to keep that a secret." Lizzie mumbles.

Hope looks at the fallen councilman's bloody neck, "Hm... a vampire must have done this."

"I mean, duh. The real question is: is he dead?"

"I don't know. We gotta find out."

The girls both sit there in silence for a little bit.

"... So, are you gonna do it?" Lizzie asks.

Hope quickly looks at Lizzie, "Me?"

"Yes, Hope. I just got my nails done and there is no way I am touching what's possibly a corpse!"

Hope gives Lizzie a hard glare and Lizzie looks back with pleading eyes. After some staring Hope groans and pulls her hair off of her shoulders before kneeling at the corpse's side. Hope puts a hand on the councilman's wrist hoping to feel a pulse. Luckily, Hope feels the pulse and lets out a sigh of relief. Hope stands up and faces Lizzie.

"He's just sleep. I think I have an idea of who did this." Hope began.

Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

"Who's the only vampire that'll feed on a human and not kill?" Hope cocks her head to the side posing a question.

Lizzie's eyes widened as she realized who Hope was talking about, "No. No. Not her."

* * *

Lizzie and Hope stood in front of Rafael, Landon, and Josie in the gym. Lizzie had called the meeting to discuss what she and Hope found that morning.

"Okay, squad. We have an issue and we're down some vampires and a witch which is bad for us because we're stopping Naomi. Today." Lizzie announced.

Everyone's eyes widened at Lizzie's claim. No one was thinking that Lizzie called them there for that.

"How are we gonna stop her?" Rafael asks.

Suddenly, the doors to the gym fly open and everyone turns around to see Naomi strutting in proudly.

"You're not." Naomi super speeds past Lizzie and everyone turns to face her, "But luckily, I came to you."

The door to the gym slams and everyone looks back in confusion. No one was even near the entrance to even touch the door so how'd it close? Naomi smirks maliciously as Lizzie turns around and angrily looks at Naomi.

"Why are you even here?" Lizzie asks angrily.

"Hope ruined the deal on the night of the dance and I've promised myself to wreak as much havoc as I can." Naomi chuckled.

"You know, you should really let that go." Hope sassed.

Naomi sped up to Hope stopping only inches in front of her face, "You know, you should learn how to keep your deals."

Josie stepped forward, "What even happened?"

"Of course you wouldn't know, you were too busy having sex, right?" Naomi jeered.

Josie and Landon looked at each other. The boy and the girl both knew what really happened that night, even if no one else did.

"It's okay. I'll tell you what happened. I'll also tell you why I'm here, while I'm at it." Naomi smirks.

* * *

Chris sits at a wooden table reading a book in the town square. As Chris sat there reading Myles pointed at all the nearby tables and seats, making a count of it all.

"Pumpkins, check. Table cloths, check." Myles looked at Chris, "That's all of it. I think Commonwealth Day is ready for tonight. All we need to do it put up the lights."

"Nope. No." Chris stands up and starts walking towards Myles, "I'm hungry. And you said that when we finished setting up we'd go eat and you're done. So let's go."

"But if I don't set up then who will?"

Chris looks around at the significant amount of other people in the town square finishing up. After a while of looking Chris looks back to Myles and lowers his eyelids as if to say 'Really?'.

"Fine, fine. What do you want?" Myles gives in.

"I want-" Chris's phone buzzes, "One second."

Chris looks at his phone seeing a text from Josie. The text said that Naomi had Alyssa Chang trap her, Hope, Lizzie, Rafael, and Landon in the gym until they told her their secrets. After Chris read the text he got another one saying, 'HELP!'. Chris's eyes widen and he looks at Myles with a shocked expression.

"What?" Myles inquired.

"My cousin has Josie, Hope, Lizzie, Rafael, and Landon trapped in the gym." Chris informed.

"What?!"

"Yeah, apparently she had Alyssa Chang do it for her. We need to get them out."

"We need to get to Alyssa Chang."

"I think she's here, actually..."

Chris begins to look around the town square. After a little bit of scanning, he sees Jed standing next to Alyssa at the drink bar. 

"Alyssa!" Chris yelled as he approached while Myles followed him.

Alyssa looked at Chris and rolled her eyes.

"Why'd you trap my friends in the gym?" Chris interrogates.

Alyssa laughs, "That's not your business."

"Excuse me? You have my friends trapped in the gym with my emotionless cousin. Who knows what she's gonna do."

"I don't know. And, I don't care. Honestly, you don't seem mad at me. You seem like you don't trust your cousin with your friends."

Chris's face turned red with both embarrassment and anger. How could Alyssa say that? She doesn't know him. She doesn't even talk to him. She was just trying to get under his skin. And it worked.

Chris glares at Alyssa, "Turn the spell off. Now."

"I'll gladly turn the spell off... if you get me a few things." Alyssa smiles.

"Like what?" Myles raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Josie sets her phone down next to her on the bleachers. Everyone else was on the floor but she climbed to the top bleacher in order to text Chris about the situation. Naomi just finished explaining to them why she was keeping them there and was furious. This was such an invasion of privacy. She stood up on the top bleacher.

"So you're keeping us here to get our secrets?" Josie asked.

"Yep. Everyone has a secret, Josie. And I intend to find them out. This is really Hope's fault, everyone say thank you, Hope." Naomi smiles.

"Thank you, Hope." Lizzie snarls.

Hope looks to Lizzie with a hard glare on her face.

"Well, none of you are leaving until I hear some secrets." Naomi tells the group.

Naomi stares daggers at Landon.

"Uh, I don't have any secrets." Landon lied.

"Everyone has secrets, Landon. And nobody is leaving until I hear them." Naomi reiterates.

Lizzie groans, "Fine, you wanna hear something? One time I siphoned Hope to cheat on a test."

"Okay. Well, I stole your butterfly clip, Lizzie." Hope shot back.

Lizzie gasps and turns towards Hope, "I loved that clip."

Hope turns to Lizzie, "I know."

"Well, I killed your hamster."

Hope had an expression of sadness, "Mr. Rubbles?"

"Yep. I-"

"Okay, okay. Enough." Naomi cut Lizzie off, "That was a good start but... it wasn't what I wanted."

Everyone's attention turned to Naomi as she continued.

"I want the big stuff." she said, "I want to know your deepest secrets. I want you all to know things that completely change how you see your own friends."

Everyone's heart dropped into their stomachs at Naomi's words. They all knew they had to keep their decks to their chests but they didn't know how to.

* * *

MG and Kym sit on the couch in Alaric's office at Mystic Falls High with Sebastian on the ground away chained up. MG was studying for History of Otherworldy Creatures for a history project and he knew Kym was good with history so he asked her for help, but he really just wanted to spend time with her even if he had to watch Sebastian.

"So, super speed and immortality? Being a vampire is pretty sweet." Kym spoke.

MG chuckles, "There's downsides to being a vamp, too. You can hurt people."

"Well, I don't think you would."

"Well, super speed or not, I'm not finding anything in Dr. Saltzman's books."

"Cause you've got the wrong book. I told you, history's my jam. And according to these old wives' tales, this monster's, like, a Venus flytrap or something mixed with an octopus. They stab their food in the throat so their victims can't scream, and then dissolve them with acid-like saliva until there's nothing left."

"And by food, you mean people."

"More like liars. Legend has it they hunt fools keeping secrets. So let's be completely honest with each other."

"Uh... so what else does your book say?"

"Croatoans can be summoned by powerful witches."

"So there was a witch in Roanoke."

"Her name was Cassandra. I could tell you more about her, my dear turnip if you abort this feeble attempt at romance and let me go." Sebastian interrupts.

"For the last time, I'm not vegetable. And we're... just friends." MG corrected.

"Besides, why should we believe anything you say?" Kym said.

"Because I was there." Sebastian states.

* * *

Silence filled the gym as no one had said anything after Naomi's statement. Everyone was trying to either bide their time and get out or just avoid saying anything altogether. Naomi was beginning to get slightly impatient as she was met with silence.

"We can continue playing the quiet game or you could start telling secrets. Either way, we'll be in here until I get what I want." Naomi announced.

"Ugh. Look, this lunar psychosis stuff... it makes me... have these... urges. It makes me want to hurt people that I care about and it's hard to talk to people. There. Can I leave now?" Rafael asked breaking the vow of silence.

"That's a good start. And, no."

Rafael was disheartened. The only reason he even said anything was to get out of there and when Naomi shut him down he felt like a fool.

"Naomi. Rafael just poured his heart out to you and we still can't leave?" Hope detested.

"Nope. That wasn't what I wanted." Naomi stated.

Josie began making her way down to everyone else.

"Fine, since you want a secret so bad here it goes... I had a crush on Josie when I was fourteen." Hope confessed.

Josie stops behind Hope, "You had a crush on me?"

Hope turns around, "Yeah..."

Josie smiles, "I had a crush on you too."

The girls look deeply into each other's eyes and smile. However, the smiling is cut short when Lizzie steps between them.

"Read. My. Lips. You two will never! Ever! Get together. Got it?!" Lizzie exasperated.

"Since we're sharing secrets," Landon stands up from sitting with his back against the wall, "me and Josie broke up."

Lizzie turns around and looks at Josie and Landon with light in her eyes, "So did you two have sex?"

Landon and Josie shake their heads 'No' in unison.

"Yes!" Lizzie exclaimed.

This news relieved Hope. Truthfully, Hope hated the idea of Landon and Josie having sex, or even dating. Don't get her wrong-- Josie was Hope's friend and she wanted her to be happy but Hope still loved Landon. And that never went away. If anything, this news vindicated Hope in her love for him.

"Josie and Hope since you're both single maybe you can-"

"No, they cannot." Lizzie cuts Naomi off as she practically spun around.

"Okay. You guys are off to a good start," Naomi's expression becomes dark and serious, "but it's still not what I want."

* * *

Chris sat in Myles' car looking out the window. The pair were heading to the grocery store to get things for Alyssa and even though Chris wasn't in the car long, he was already starting to get antsy. Chris used to say he'd never say he hated anyone but when it came to Alyssa Chang all of those thoughts went out of his head. Chris hated Alyssa. Alyssa has bullied him since he was a freshman about his weight, his unwillingness to talk to people, and his fears. One time Alyssa cloaked Hope and forged a note to make Chris think his best friend left him. Needless to say, Alyssa was the worst, and running errands for her made Chris feel as though it was the lowest he'd ever stooped. Myles noticed Chris' anger.

"Are you okay?" Myles asked.

"No. I'm not. Today was supposed to be fun and relaxing, but no. I'm running errands for Alyssa Chang instead of eating myself into a food coma." Chris complained.

"I mean, it can't be all bad. We're here together." Myles smiled.

There it was again. The feeling. The feeling that he and Myles were more than friends. Chris felt his cheeks grow hot as he played Myles' words on repeat in his head. Chris didn't expect to feel this much emotion over one sentence but he did.

"What are you trying to say?" Chris inquired.

Myles looks to Chris and gives him a smirk before hitting the gas, speeding up the car.

"Whoa! Be careful!" Chris yelled in order to be heard over the engine.

"I've been careful! It's time for adventure!" Myles smirked and pushed the gas harder.

* * *

Hope, Josie, Lizzie, Rafael, and Landon all stand closely together in a huddle-type formation. The group decided they needed to unpack everything that just happened and make a plan a to what they're going to do.

"Naomi's hunting secrets, not any of us. So at least she has taste, unlike someone." Lizzie implied looking at Josie.

Josie looks to Lizzie then to her feet as she thinks about everything she wants to say to her sister at this moment.

"She's not getting anything out of us 'cause from this moment on, we're not telling her anything. Okay, Rafael?" Hope queried.

"Sorry..." Rafael trailed off.

"It's fine. Everyone remember we aren't telling her anything. We're just gonna wait until the spell wears off or Naomi gives up." Hope orders.

"Hope, we'll be waiting forever. Naomi and Alyssa both won't let up anytime soon." Josie reasoned.

"Josie's right, waiting here is an unsustainable solution." Landon chimed in.

"The exes are right, you know. I have nothing but time." Naomi added herself in.

The huddle broke up and Hope turned around, looking at Naomi.

"We're not telling you anything." Hope said firmly.

"Okay." Naomi smiled innocently.

Approximately five seconds went by before Naomi super sped to Landon and threw him across the gym. Lizzie quickly raised a hand but before she could do anything, Hope gripped her wrist.

"Lizzie, no." Hope spoke.

"Why not?" Lizzie questioned.

"Because she already has her humanity off and she literally just threw Landon, who knows what she could do to you. I don't want anyone else getting hurt."

Lizzie looked to Hope and groaned, "Fine."

A little ways away from Naomi were Josie and Rafael who went into shock after seeing the sight. Josie calmed down in time but Rafael's primal mind kicked in and his eyes became yellow. Josie saw the change in eye color and heard as Rafael began to breathe heavily and uncontrollably. Rafael's deadly gaze didn't break from Naomi as he watched the vampire turn around and smirk at him, infuriating him even more. Josie knew what she had to do.

Josie put a hand on Rafael's arm, "Rafael calm down."

Rafael didn't hear Josie. Rafael didn't hear anything. He only heard his heart beating through his chest and only saw Naomi. Just Naomi. Just his prey. Nothing else. The minute Josie's hand came in contact with his arm, he swung pushing Josie to the ground. Lizzie and Hope ran to Josie and tended to her while Rafael launched himself at Naomi.

Rafael tries to throw a punch at Naomi but she dodged his attack and grabbed the werewolf's arm before he could pull away. Naomi flipped Rafael over her shoulder, slamming him to the ground. Naomi lets go of Rafael and the wolf tries to stand up but doesn't get farther than his knees before Naomi super speeds behind him and holds him in a tight choke-hold. Josie, Lizzie, and Hope ran over to them but stopped in their tracks when Naomi yelled,

"Stop!"

The girls watched as Naomi slightly tightened her hold on their friend.

"You three better start saying shit or I'll snap his neck."

* * *

MG and Kym look down at Sebastian as he finishes telling his story about Cassandra. It was a tragic tail but a helpful one as MG wrote down what was important for his paper on supernatural creatures.

"I don't understand why I can't remember more. Cassandra, she was... my great love." Sebastian remembered.

"Homegirl summoned a demon to snuff you out, though." Kym says.

"Had she known it was me, I believe she would have done things differently."

"Maybe you should have just been honest with the lady instead of skulking around here like Dracula." MG said.

Sebastian super speeds up to MG, "A lesson in being honest about the woman one fancies is particularly ironic coming from you, Milton."

* * *

Chris and Myles stand in the grocery store side by side as they look up and down at a plethora of different tampons.

"This is so disgusting." Chris says with disgust written his face.

Myles chuckles, "You act like you haven't seen anything like this."

"I have. But, that doesn't mean I didn't hope I'd never see it again. Especially not for... Alyssa Chang."

Myles laughs and grabs a tampon, "You're hilarious, Coleman."

Myles shoves the tampon he grabbed in Chris's face and laughs. Chris rolls his eyes and smacks the tampon into the cart. Myles laughs more.

"You know, you're really calm about this." Chris points out.

Myles looks at Chris, "Yeah, I used to get stuff like this for my mom when she was too drunk to..."

Chris curls his eyebrows upwards as Myles looks down and clears his throat. Chris felt as though he had to do something, he knew his friend was hurting and mixed feelings or not Chris still knew being a good friend comes first.

Chris puts a hand on Myles' shoulder, "It's okay, you know. You don't have to hide your sadness around me."

Myles looks at Chris and smiles with red cheeks, "Thanks, Chris."

"Anytime..."

The pair look into each other's eyes for a moment. Though it was just a moment for Chris and Myles it felt like a thousand years. Soon, the pair broke eye contact.

"Uh, let's get the next thing." Myles offers.

"Okay. What is it?" Chris asks.

Myles pulls up his phone and checks his texts from Alyssa, "Um... condoms."

Chris's face scrunches up, "What?"

"I don't know, maybe I'll get one."

"What?!"

"I'm just saying, you never know."

Chris lowers his head and walks forward as Myles laughs and follows behind pushing the cart.

* * *

Landon was now standing alongside Hope, Lizzie, and Josie. The group decided to confess at least something in hopes of getting their friend back.

"Wow. I can't believe you and Josie knew that relationship wouldn't work and you still tried it." Naomi gasped.

"Yeah, yeah. Can you let him go now?" Landon puzzled.

Naomi shakes her head, "That's still not what I want."

The group sees Naomi tighten her grip on Rafael. Landon knew he had to do something, he couldn't just stand there and watch his brother get hurt by Naomi. Landon took a step forward.

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't do anything or Rafael becomes a dead wolf." Naomi glared, "Now tell me what I want to hear."

Landon stepped back and watched as Rafael struggled to breathe. Landon felt so useless, he couldn't even help his brother. Lizzie realized the situation was dire when she heard Rafael struggle to breathe and she knew she had to give Naomi what she wanted.

"I like comics!" Lizzie confessed.

After Lizzie began everyone else knew they had to follow suit and began telling any secrets they could. Rapidly.

"I started the fire in Hope's room and told everyone that Lizzie was crazy in order to deflect from the fact that I liked Hope." Josie stated.

"That was years ago. Irrelevant." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"Rafael's losing breath." Naomi told.

"Guys, focus." Hope commanded.

"I had a crush on Raf but Lizzie got in the way." Josie confessed.

"You really need to speak up more. If you would've said something then I would've left it alone." Lizzie informed.

"Told you." Hope added.

"It's getting tighter." Naomi smiled.

"Uh, guys." Landon looked at the girls.

"Right, right, right. Uh..." Hope searched for a secret. The tribrid knew she had a secret but she couldn't say it. She couldn't hurt Landon anymore than she already had. Hope looked at Rafael and knew she was being selfish and in her not wanting to hurt Landon she was hurting Rafael. 

"Raf stopped the kiss, not both of us like we said we did." Hope let out.

Everyone gasped and Landon looked to Hope. Landon was hurt. No. He was in excruciating pain. Landon thought he could trust Hope more, Landon thought she loved him... or at least liked him. Though he never told her, Landon did love Hope. He loved Hope in a way he had never loved anyone. And this news cut into him.

"Well, sometimes I wish I never met you." Landon turns his head to Rafael, "Or him."

Rafael may have been suffocating but he still heard Landon's words. Rafael knew he made a mistake but he didn't think it'd warrant this. He didn't think he'd lose his brother. Rafael was hurt and he knew he wanted to hurt Landon back, so he found a secret that he knew would hurt Landon.

"I still have a crush on Hope." Rafael barely stammered out.

Naomi dropped Rafael and gasped. Rafael fell onto all fours and the gym feel silent with the only thing being heard was Rafael's pants and gasps. Everyone processed everything that was said. No one expected some of the words that were spoken and it shook everything-and everyone-up. The silence was broken when Naomi's phone vibrated. Naomi took her phone from her pocket and looked at it.

"The spell has been dropped, you're free to go." Naomi smiled before leaving the gym.

Rafael stood up and gained his composure only to be met with stares from everyone else.

* * *

In the office, MG thought about Sebastian's words. He was right. He had to be honest with Kym.

"Yeah, I like this girl Lizzie... but I think I'm moving on." MG confesses.

"Since you came clean. I suddenly remember it now. Cassandra gave me, this token. She said that it would protect me." Sebastian nods to the necklace that he wears.

"From... the monster?"

"No. From the colony leadership. They asked Cassandra to find the monster that was... that was terrorizing them." Sebastian chuckles, "But she did love me. So she summoned something even... worse. Something that would ferret out the lies those Puritan hypocrites were concealing from the rest of the village. Keep them from finding me."

"Then the Croatoan went ham. Wiped everyone out." Kym interjected.

"Yeah. As you well know, Milton, everybody lies. When I found out what Cassandra was plotting, I tried to stop her. She was keeping my secret. I feared that she'd become a target. So she desiccated me... to keep me safe. In that state, I watched the Croatoan tear her limb from limb before she could dispel it." Sebastian sighs, "Unable to help her as she died."

"Damn." Kym comments.

* * *

Alyssa and Jed stood side by side in the town square. The night sky was dark but the different lights of the Commonwealth Day celebration lit the town square. As people all around celebrated Chris and Myles pushed their way past multiple people who were drinking, laughing, and overall having fun. Chris made sure to keep Alyssa's grocery bag in hand as he and Chris approached Alyssa in the food area.

"Here." Chris handed Alyssa her bag filled with oddities, "There's your stuff. Now, drop the spell."

"Oh, the spell's already been dropped." Alyssa took the bag.

"Wait. What?!"

"Yep. I just needed a couple of things from the store and I didn't want to get it."

"But I-- I- I bought condoms for you!"

"Actually, those were for Jed. But thank you."

Chris' eyebrows from into a scowl and he looks at Jed, "Jed, this is what you date?" 

"Oh, we're not dating." Alyssa informed before walking off.

Jed follows Alyssa closely. Chris folded his arms and begins grumbling atrocities. Myles doesn't clearly hear what Chris is saying but he does recognize that his friend is in pain. Myles soon makes a plan of what he's going to do.

"Why are you letting her ruin your Commonwealth Day?" Myles asks.

"Little things can ruin my day." Chris informs.

"Maybe I can make your day."

Chris unfolds his arms and looks at Myles, "How?"

"Meet me at the dock after Commonwealth Day." Myles instructs before walking off.

Chris watches as Myles leaves and smiles, wondering what Myles has planned.

* * *

Lizzie and Josie stood in the doorway of the gym with Josie leaning on the left side and Lizzie on the right. They decided they needed to reflect on the day after everything that happened.

"I can't believe Naomi did that." Lizzie scoffed.

"I can. Hope broke the deal. You can't break agreements and expect everyone to be happy about it. I mean, look at World War II." Josie reasoned.

"Are you on her side?"

"No, I'm just... I'm on the side of what's right."

"What wasn't right was you setting that fire, Josie." a voice said.

The girls looked over to see Hope approaching them inside the gym.

"I mean, would it have been that bad if I had known you liked me?" Hope queried.

"I was embarrassed." Josie sighed.

"Embarrassed enough to start a rumor about your sister's mental health, which you knew she was struggling with?" Lizzie question.

Josie looked down. She knew what she did was wrong and the feelings of guilt she felt came rushing back to her at that moment.

"If today taught us anything, it's that we keep _way_ too many secrets." Hope addressed.

The girls looked to Hope.

"Hope's right." Lizzie said, "We are three badass witches and we can't let secrets fracture the squad. So from now on, no more secrets."

Hope and Josie nodded at Lizzie's words.

"No more secrets." They said in unison.

"That sounds reasonable." Sebastian spoke.

"Oh, God, I'm having an episode." Lizzie gasped as she looked at Sebastian.

"At least this one's got a hot guy guest star." Josie acknowledged.

Sebastian nods in agreement.

"Wait. You can see him?" Lizzie asks.

"Everyone can. There's something I need to tell you." MG sighed.

* * *

Josie and Hope miserably sit at a table in silence. Around the girls were crowds of people celebrating Commonwealth Day but after the day Hope and Josie had they couldn't celebrate anything. While Hope and Josie were silently sulking Chris walked up to them with a wide smile on his face.

"I'm having the best Commonwealth day ever! How are you girls doing?" he asked cheerfully.

"We just spent all day in a hot gym. So, I think it's safe to say we're doing fine." Hope said sarcastically.

"I know that." Chris sits down, "My question is: what was said?"

"It doesn't matter." Josie said, "She invaded our privacy without a care in the world."

"That's how humanity flip works." Chris stated the obvious.

"I know, but it's weird. Sometimes, she's offering to help me with math homework and helping us win games. But other times she's trapping us in gyms and threatening Rafael's life."

"I've seen it too. On the day of the game, Naomi wished me a good day, and the day of the dance, she genuinely smiled. Emotionless people don't do that." Hope informed.

"But she's still emotionless." Josie looked to Hope.

"Maybe not, one time I heard her break something in her room. She had to have been angry in order to do that cause, the Naomi I know doesn't do things like that. Maybe she's like, slipping or something." Chris guessed.

"Well, if she's slipping there's only one logical solution." Hope began.

Chris and Josie turned their attention to Hope as Hope looked at them seriously.

"We have to turn her humanity on."

* * *

Rafael sat alone at the dock. He looked at the water he reflected on the day, everything he said, everything he heard. All of it. He thought about the newly formed fracture between him and Landon that he partially created. He thought about Hope and how she felt about the situation. Honestly, he felt too embarrassed to talk to everyone else due to everything he had said. As Rafael went deeper in thought Landon came and sat next to him.

"Lan?" Rafael inquired.

"Hey, Raf." Landon sighed.

"Why aren't you celebrating Commonwealth Day with everyone else?"

"I don't know, I guess I just couldn't be around everyone until I knew you were okay."

"I'm fine, Lan."

"Are you sure? Cause, you look pretty sulky here."

"I'm fine, Lan. Seriously."

"Raf, I've known you for your whole life. I know you're not fine. So, what's wrong?"

Rafael sighs, "You know, all of my life I've tried to keep our bond. I always have and always will put our bond over everything. But, one girl comes along and all of that is gone. I guess I'm just... embarrassed."

"No, Raf. Nobody blames you, you can't control your feelings."

"Yeah, but I can control my actions."

"No. If anyone's to blame, it's me. I shouldn't have said all that stuff about wishing I never met you."

"Lan, don't be sorry. I know you just said that to hurt Hope."

"... Maybe it was true."

Rafael looks to Landon, "Oh..."

"Like I said it was out of line, I should've just stayed quiet."

"No, Landon it's fine. It was your truth. You always speak your truth, that's what we all like about you."

"Yeah, but it still probably hurt to hear it."

"It did, but I get why. I mean, look where knowing me landed you. Broken heart. Broken bond."

"No, it's not about that. It's just witches, vampires, wolves, phoenixes. This wasn't my life before."

The boys become silent. There wasn't much to say, but there was much to think about. Rafael soon came to a conclusion.

"Look Lan, I'm here for you if you ever need me. I'm your brother." Rafael comforts.

"Yeah. We're brothers. And no girl will ever come between us again." Landon declared.

"Yeah. Ever."

* * *

Hope, Chris, and Josie had gone back and forth about what they're going to do about Naomi. No one was coming up with a good plan and Chris was beginning to get fed up with the arguing, so he began to look around. Soon, Chris' eyes set on MG, Kym, Kaleb, and Lizzie. Chris then had an idea.

"That won't work, Hope." Josie argued.

"Do you have a better idea?" Hope asked.

"Ladies, ladies. As riveting this discussion of Naomi's humanity is, I was hoping we could table it for another time. It's Commonwealth Day, let's try and have at least some semblance of fun." Chris offers.

"What did you have in mind?" Josie questioned.

Chris nodded over to their friends and the girls looked over, nodding as they got the memo. Chris stood up and walked over to the group as the girls followed. That night was filled with laughs, smiles, and happiness as everyone celebrated Commonwealth day together. It felt good to finally experience something happy after all the darkness they've been through. The worst was still coming but for that night, they were normal. They were happy.

* * *

Ethan jogged through the dark cemetery. Unlike others, he wasn't easily afraid of things like the graveyard at night. As he was coming to a stop and catching his breath, Sebastian approached. Ethan felt a tap on the shoulder and turned around to see Sebastian staring back at him.

"Relax, this will not hurt." Sebastian compelled.

Ethan came into a relaxed state and Sebastian's became bloodshot red. Sebastian opened his mouth exposing his fangs and went down on Ethan's neck. However, before Sebastian could sink his teeth into Ethan he was ripped away by Naomi speeding past Sebastian and pulling Ethan back by his shirt.

"Sorry but, he's mine." Naomi smirked.

"Ah yes, a vampire. I heard you coming, but I believe it is, as they say, 'finders keepers'." Sebastian stated.

Naomi looked Sebastian up and down, "How old are you?"

"I am Sebastian of the eighteenth century."

"Oh, you're Sebastian. Lizzie has been talking about you nonstop. It's honestly annoying."

"Yes, Elizabeth and I are involved."

"Okay. Well, no hard feelings." Naomi said before super speeding towards Sebastian.

Sebastian grabs Naomi, spins around, and launches her back before the younger vampire can even get a hand on him. Naomi skitted backward with her hands and the tips of her toes both on the ground.

"What are you attempting to do?" Sebastian questions.

Naomi stands up, "Something that'll get me in good graces with the Salvatore School."

Naomi super speeds to Sebastian but he uses his super-speed to quickly turn Naomi around and pin her arm behind her back in a painful way.

"Why do you care? You're obviously one of those emotionless vermin." Sebastian scoffed.

Sebastian pushes Naomi's bent arm up her back causing Naomi pain. Naomi begins to wince and gasp in pain before mustering up the strength to turn around and give Sebastian a left-hook, letting herself free from his grip. Once freed, Naomi grabbed Sebastian's head and super-sped both of them to a grave. Before Sebastian could register what was happening Naomi slammed his head into a gravestone and snapped his neck. Naomi watched as Sebastian fell to the ground.

"So it'll be all the more amazing when I stab them in the back. Literally." Naomi smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked it when Naomi and Sebastian had their scuffle at the end. Feel free to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out Thursday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	7. You Break Your Deal, I Break Mine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a sunny Winter day at the Salvatore School as students congregated and traveled in the halls. Two people who resided in the halls were the Saltzman twins who were on their way to Hope's room to discuss a couple of things about what happened on Commonwealth Day. Lizzie and Josie enter Hope's room and Hope sits up in her bed.

"Uh, guys? What are you doing here?" Hope asks.

"Well, I was thinking to myself and I realized... we need to talk to more. Ever since our secrets have been out I really feel... closer, as a family." Lizzie announces before shoving herself in the middle of Hope's bed, forcing Hope to move to the left.

Josie comes and sits next to Lizzie on the empty side of the bed. An awkward silence fills the room as Hope and Josie glance at each other frequently, each looks angrier than the last. Lizzie begins to notice the glancing and rolls her eyes.

"You know, I like to believe we are more evolved as women than fighting over dating a garden gnome. So, squash this beef and become true, raw, feminists." Lizzie smiles.

"Okay. Yeah." Hope nods.

"Beef squashed." Josie lies.

The girls continue glaring daggers at each other as if they said nothing and Lizzie rolls her eyes.

"Good. Because, personally, I've never been better. My work paid off. My mind is sharp. All perceived mental breakdowns were a figment of my imagination fed by two manipulative vampires who will remain forever my enemies." Lizzie chattered as the other girls looked around.

"What's going on with Sebastian?" Hope asks.

"Headmaster Downtown Abbey wants us to enroll him after winter break, apparently Naomi put him in the dungeon last week."

"That's... strangely noble. Maybe she's cracking." Josie suggests.

"Or maybe she's buttering us up." Hope adds.

Josie glared to Hope angrily feeling undermined. As the conversation concluded the door opened and the girls looked to see Jed in the doorway.

"What do you want, puppy?" Lizzie rudely asks.

"Uh, Lizzie, I thought you might wanna know Naomi's throwing a party." Jed told.

The girls all look at each other in confusion.

* * *

Hope sat in front of Alaric's desk while Alaric sat behind it looking at Hope. It was Hope's time of the week to check up on her headmaster and luckily it landed on a day like this where Hope needed a little bit of talking to with her father figure.

"Anyways, Naomi's throwing a party." Hope rolls her eyes.

"Her humanity being off shouldn't affect her love of partying." Alaric chuckled.

"Her humanity's off, she can't love anything." Hope said rather aggressively, "She has to be up to something."

Alaric watched as Hope moved a little in her chair and tapped her fingers. Hope was obviously upset and it couldn't just be about a party.

"Look, I know this isn't about Naomi. What's really wrong?" Alaric asked.

"Nothing. It is about Naomi." Hope lied.

Alaric raised an eyebrow at Hope. Alaric's gaze practically pried the truth out of Hope as she sighed knowing she'd been found out.

"Everyone hates me." Hope told the truth.

"Everyone doesn't hate you, Hope." Alaric tried to comfort.

"Yes, they do."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter. All that matters is how hard it is to help when no one wants to talk to you."

"I know someone wants to talk to you."

"Naomi did but I ruined that."

"There's really nobody?"

"I mean, Amelia but she's occupied."

"Well, while I'm not a student I just want you to know, you have me and you can come anytime." Alaric smiled.

Hope smiled, "Thanks, Dr. Saltzman."

Later, Hope exited Alaric's office and was now on her way out of Mystic Falls High. As Hope pushed passed the dozens of students she saw a familiar face approach her. It was Ethan. Hope and Ethan were growing quite close, she saw him every week after her session with Alaric.

"Hey, Hope." Ethan smiled at Hope.

"Hey." Hope greeted.

"Hey, so remember when I said that thing about asking me out? Well, I have a free period, and if you have some time maybe we could head down to the Mystic Grill for a couple of shakes?"

Hope did consider his offer but there was a bigger situation to worry about.

"Sorry, Ethan. I have to get back to school." Hope declined.

"That's alright. Raincheck?" Ethan asked.

"Yep." Hope said before leaving.

* * *

Naomi walked through the halls of the Salvatore School passing out invitation flyers to every other student that passed her. As Naomi was passing around invitations she saw Josie approaching her. Naomi stopped and Josie walked up to her.

"Hey, Jo. Want an invitation to my party?" Naomi asked with obviously fake cheer in her voice.

"No, I want to know why you're throwing a party." Josie stated.

"I just feel as though I have to go back to my roots. With all this change it's important to not forget where you came from."

"Your roots are trashing schools and trying to kill your friends."

"That was rude but I'll still extend an invitation." Naomi said before handing out an invitation.

Josie looked down at the invitation with a disgusted look. She knew she shouldn't trust her but part of her wanted to take it. Part of her hoped that Naomi was still in there somewhere.

"My arm's getting tired." Naomi grumbled.

Josie rolled her eyes and reluctantly took the flyer.

"Good. See you at my party." Naomi smiled.

As Naomi walked away Josie began to form a plan.

* * *

Rafael and Landon sit across from each other at a table in the library trying to research things about being a phoenix. Rafael was there because Landon was his brother, he wants to support him and the stunt Naomi pulled has him on edge, sending him into protective brother mode. And Landon well, he was a phoenix so he was there by default.

"You know, you don't have to sit with me. I'm sure you have better things to do." Landon says looking up from a book.

"If you're here, I'm here." Rafael responds.

"That's cool, but I'm pretty sure you haven't left my side for twenty-two straight hours."

"And if Naomi pulls another stunt like she did last week, who would be here to protect you?"

"Yeah, but you're my brother. Not my bodyguard."

"I'm whatever I need to be to keep you safe, Lan. I owe it to you."

"Because of Hope? Raf, you don't owe me anything."

"Just let me owe you this."

Josie walks up to the boys interrupting their conversation.

"Hi." Josie greets.

"Hi." Landon smiled.

"Any chance we can talk?" Josie asks Landon.

"Oh, yeah. I'll give you guys some space." Rafael says getting up to leave.

Josie sits down where Rafael sat, "Hey. I have a crazy idea."

* * *

Josie and Landon stood in front of Hope, Lizzie, Rafael, Chris, and Xavier. Josie's 'crazy idea' was in fact crazy as it involved using Xavier to turn Naomi's humanity on.

"That's fricking crazy, Josie." Lizzie pointed out.

"I'm with Lizzie on this one. I don't think we should do it." Hope agreed.

"But it could work. Besides, we won't know unless we try." Landon proposed.

"Naomi was pretty clear about the deal. I mean, we didn't even really break it and we were still locked in the gym. What do you think she'll do when we actually break the deal." Hope reasoned.

"I'm with Hope, especially after she almost killed me." Rafael commented.

"My only question is: why do I have to be the one to do it?" Xavier asked.

"You were her first love, if anyone can turn on her humanity it's you." Josie confirmed.

Xavier sighed. Chris looked over at his friend and realized Xavier was obviously worried about the situation at hand.

"It'll be okay, Xavier. We got it under control." Chris comforted.

"Like you had it under control on Commonwealth Day?" Xavier inquired rudely.

The entire gym became silent for a moment as everyone processed Xavier's words.

"Yeah, I know about what Naomi did." Xavier informed.

"Ignore the heartbroken mosquito." Lizzie steps forward, "Josie, do you really think this plan will work?" Lizzie asked.

"I do. But, we're all gonna need invitations." Josie announced.

* * *

Naomi stood in the common area passing invitations to some students that walked by. After a little bit of tracking down, Hope had finally found Naomi as she entered the common area. Hope waltzed over to Naomi.

"Hey, Hope. Want an invitation?" Naomi questioned.

"Sure. Uh, why are you having a party anyway?" Hope inquired.

"I need to go back to my roots."

"No, what's the real reason?"

Naomi's expression became deadly serious, "I'm throwing the party cause I plan to kill someone tonight."

Hope's eyes widened with fear as she heard Naomi's words.

"See? The fact that you reacted that way when what I said wasn't even true, shows that you've lost all trust in me." Naomi pointed out.

Naomi hands Hope a flyer and walks away.

* * *

Hope was on her way to class when Landon approached her in the hall.

"How did it go with Naomi?" he asked.

Hope sighs, "She feels like I've lost all trust in her."

"No one would blame you if you did. I mean, look at everything she's done."

"Still, she's my friend and I don't want to hurt her. Emotionally or physically."

"Well, it's good you still care."

"Yep. Uh... how's Raf?"

"He's fine. Me and him are fine. Um, why do you wanna know?"

"Oh, oh, um you--you know he's my friend and all..."

"He said you guys haven't talked since Commonwealth Day."

"Oh, he did?"

"Yep."

"Oh..."

A silence falls over Landon and Hope. After a bit of awkward silence, Hope finally speaks.

"Well, I gotta get to class."

"Yeah, uh, me too. Bye, Hope."

"Bye..."

The pair awkwardly shuffle past each other and as they leave Hope thinks about all of the things she wished she said.

* * *

Rafael and Chris sit next to each other at a table in English class. While the teacher babbled on Chris thought about his proposition for Rafael. Chris looked to Rafael.

"So... I need your help." Chris whispers.

"What is it?" Rafael asks.

"Naomi asked Noah if he'd be the person that took in the invitations, but I wanted to hang out with him so... could you take in the invitations?"

"Chris, you're my bro but... I wanted to have some fun. This exposure therapy has really been helping and I wanted to party. And isn't tonight supposed to be about taking down Naomi?"

"Yeah, it is. So don't you think if me and Noah showed up to party it'd be less suspicious. Besides, who would you party with?"

"I mean, Landon. My pack... Jed."

"Okay, yeah but please? Can you just do me a solid tonight?"

"No. Sorry, Chris."

Chris sighs, "I didn't want to have to do this but... if you help me I can give you what you want most in this world."

"Which is what?"

"To get in good graces with Hope."

Rafael's eyes widened and he looked to Chris, "How do you know I want that?"

"I have my ways. Now, are you in or out?"

Rafael gives Chris a hard stare as he considers the deal.

* * *

After class concluded Hope walked through the halls once again on her way to her next class. As Hope was moving through the hall, she saw Chris begin to approach her with a folded piece of paper in his hand. From the looks of it, Chris had something he wanted to talk about so Hope stopped and let him walk up to her.

"Hey, Hope." Chris smiled.

"Hey. What's going on?" Hope queries.

"Uh, I have a letter." Chris hands out the folded piece of paper, "It's from Rafael. You should read it, preferably in front of me so I could see your reaction."

"Uh... okay..."

Hope unfolds the piece of paper and reads the note. The note is filled with sweet nothings, and flowery words, and things that Rafael just wouldn't say. The note wasn't even in Rafael's handwriting. Hope figured out what was going on and looked back to Chris.

"Um, Chris... this isn't Raf's handwriting. Also, he wouldn't say half of these things like 'I wish to rekindle our friendship' what is that?" Hope questions.

"Oh, right. Yeah, I helped Raf write that." Chris lied.

"Then why is your signature on it?" Hope asked before pointing the corner where Chris' signature resided.

Chris sighed knowing he had been found out, "Look, Raf says he's really sorry and he wants to be friends again."

"I don't know... after what we confessed on Commonwealth Day I don't know if it's a good idea. I mean, Landon already wishes he never met me, so seeing me and Rafael all buddy-buddy again wouldn't make him feel any better.".

"Hope, I'm sorry to say this but... it wasn't a choice. I made a deal with Rafael and much like my cousin I like to keep my word. So, could you at least give Rafael a try? For me?"

Hope store daggers at Chris but was met with puppy-eyes from the boy. After a small stare-down Hope finally gave in.

"Fine." Hope groaned.

"Thank you." Chris smiled.

Hope rolls her eyes and walks past the smiling Chris.

* * *

Josie sat on her bed thinking about the day. She thought about how Hope's secrets hurt Landon and the sense of victory she felt after being the one to come up with the plan to stop Naomi. Truthfully, the arguing on Commonwealth Day wasn't just about the plan, it was really about the secrets that were brought to light. She also felt like she was about to explode. She couldn't handle the weight of the dark magic she had done but on top of that the anger, she felt towards Hope. It was all too much and she had to let loose. Before Josie could continue her thought, Naomi entered her room.

"What do you want?" Josie asked angrily.

"Well, I finished passing out invitations and I decided I needed to check on my best gal-pal." Naomi innocently smiled.

"We're not friends."

"Sure we are. Otherwise, you wouldn't have used that spell I gave you, you wouldn't have taken my advice, and you wouldn't use that sand clock." Naomi walks over to Josie's bed and plops down onto it facing the girl, "So what's been going on?"

Josie looks at Naomi who shakes her head a little as if to say 'I'm waiting'. Josie knows she shouldn't tell Naomi anything but she felt if she kept her secrets in any longer she would scream. So, Josie had to let it out.

"I feel like I'm gonna explode. Has that thing stopped working?" Josie motioned to the sand clock.

Naomi looks at the sand clock sitting on Josie's windowsill, "Oh, I don't know." Naomi looked back to Josie, "But what's wrong?"

"Why do you even care?"

"Cause, I have nothing better to do. And like I said, we're friends."

Josie sighs, "First off, having to cloak that sand clock anytime anyone's around sucks. Secondly, what Hope said about Rafael. I know it doesn't affect me but it hurt Landon and he's been hurt enough."

"Do you still like him or something?"

"No, but I still care about him. He was my friend before we dated."

"Hm. Well... find a spell to fix it." Naomi says before standing up and walking over to Josie's bookshelf.

"What?"

Naomi begins looking through spellbooks, "Find a spell to get rid of your emotions."

"Being a witch doesn't work like that. We can't just turn off our humanity like you can."

"Sure it does." Naomi throws a spellbook onto Josie's bed, "You just gotta try."

Josie watches as Naomi begins pacing around her room. Josie realizes that Naomi is expecting her to do a spell and even though Josie was sure there wasn't one, she decided to humor the girl. Josie flipped through pages and pages of runic writing and magical text before landing on a spell.

Josie pointed to the spell, "There. The emotional channeling spell."

"See? I told you it was possible." Naomi cheers.

"It says it converts bad emotions into black magic."

Naomi grabs the sand clock, "Well luckily you have a black magic eraser."

Naomi sits on the ground cross-legged and sets the sand clock in front of her. Though Josie was against the situation she had no better options, so she grabbed the book and sat on the opposite side of the sand clock across from Naomi. Josie crossed her legs and set the spellbook in her lap.

"What does it say?" Naomi inquired.

"Phasmatos tribum nos ex viris. Quo animo transibit." Josie recited.

"Okay, just say that a couple of times until it works."

"I need to siphon something."

Naomi holds her arm out and Josie looks at it. Josie knows that this is wrong and she shouldn't be doing this but what else could she do? She refused to talk to Hope and nobody else would listen to her. This was her only option. Besides, Naomi seemed so knowledgable and helpful. Maybe Naomi truly did have good intentions. So, with thinking like that Josie grabbed Naomi's arm and began to siphon while chanting,

_"Phasmatos tribum nos ex viris. Quo animo transibit!"_

over and over until Josie felt as though she got all of the anger and sadness out of her. Josie looked at Naomi and smiled brightly.

"Something tells me you're already feeling better." Naomi spoke.

"Yeah, it worked." Josie beamed.

Naomi stood up, "Good. Now, I have a party to get ready for."

* * *

Night swiftly came as everyone in the Salvatore School gathered at the Old Mill for Naomi's rager. Everyone was dancing, talking, drinking, and overall having a good time. Noah and Chris walked up to a small booth with a sign that said 'Invitations' on it. Chris sighed as he didn't see Rafael accepting invitations.

"I guess Naomi wanted to go all out for her first party of the year." Noah gawked.

"Rafael's a no-show." Chris groaned.

"It's fine, Chris. I'll just do the job."

Chris sighed as he got an idea, "What if I helped you."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Of course. Come on."

Chris smiled as he walked into the booth followed by Noah.

* * *

Landon was at the docks, he was about to drown himself with a rope tied around a brick. He was dealing with the break up with Josie, his maybe feelings about Hope, and Hope confessing that Rafael stopped the kiss between them. It was all too much for him and he's had enough.

Landon was taking his shoes off, he was getting ready to drown himself.

Rafael walked up to Landon, "Hey, Landon."

"Hi." Landon greets back.

"What are you doing, bro?"

"It's not what it looks like. I just need a release from what's been going on." Landon says trying the rope around him.

"This is insane."

"Yeah, you mean everything going on?"

"I mean everything." Rafael unites the rope, "Do you see what you're about to do to yourself? I know that you're Phoenix and you'll come back, but does that make it okay? And there's Naomi, the attacks, and the plans and the backup plans, but to me, it seems like it's not gonna end soon."

"Is Naomi gonna do something?"

"Does it even matter if she does? Cause you guys are just gonna cook up another crazy solution."

"I don't even know how we got here. We came to this school because there was nothing out there that was safe for us. But now it feels like this is the least safe place on Earth."

Rafael was right. Things had been starting to get bad at the school both within the school and with Naomi. Landon had to leave. Fast.

* * *

At a different spot at the party, Lizzie and her friends danced in the crowd. As they danced Lizzie thought about how despite all of the darkness the school had been facing she was happy to be able to have some fun.

"This party is great!" Lizzie laughed as her friends laughed in agreement.

Josie approached Lizzie, Lizzie stopped dancing as she saw her sister approach.

"We need to stay focused on the plan." Josie reminded.

"Ugh, Naomi isn't even doing anything bad. Let's just let it go and have fun." Lizzie stated.

"Josie's right." Hope appeared next to Josie, "We need to stay focused."

Josie side-eyed Hope angrily. Josie felt as though she was being undermined by Hope and she hated it. Xavier walked up next to Hope.

"Where is Naomi?" Xavier questioned.

A higher power must've heard Xavier's question because as Hope was looking around she saw Naomi walking past people with blood on her shirt. As Hope looked at the girl she began to assume the worst and while she was valid in that what she didn't know was that what she was thinking was wrong. Still, Hope didn't know she was wrong, what she did know was that Naomi was up to no good. Hope looked back to the group.

"I just saw Naomi. She had blood on her shirt and that never means anything good." Hope informed.

"Where was she heading?" Josie asked.

"The school. We need to start the plan, now." Hope confirmed.

Xavier nodded and super-sped off into the crowd.

* * *

After changing into a new shirt, Naomi stood in the kitchen rummaging in the refrigerator for a water bottle. Naomi got her water bottle and closed the fridge but when the door shut she saw her ex, Xavier standing before her leaning on a counter.

"Hey." Xavier greeted.

"Hello." Naomi nodded.

"Uh, what were you doing earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"Hope mentioned something about seeing you walking back to the school with blood on your shirt."

"Huh. Is that why you're here?"

"What? Oh, no. I'm here cause I'm hungry. You just happen to be here." Xavier badly lied.

"Hm. Okay. Well, I was feeding. So next time tell Hope to mind her own business." Naomi states before walking past Xavier.

Xavier knew he had to better than that if he wanted to bring Naomi back. Everyone was counting on him. So he turned around.

"I mean, that's kind of hard with your reputation today." Xavier called out.

Naomi turned around, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Naomi, you're like a new person these days."

"No, I'm not. I'm still Naomi I just don't have emotions to cloud my judgment anymore."

"See, that's just the issue." Xavier begins slowly walking towards Naomi, "You can't feel anymore. Can't love."

Naomi begins to dismiss Xavier's baseless dribble in her head. What did he know? He wasn't her. He didn't know what she'd been through.

Xavier comes to a stop in front of Naomi, "But I still love you. You're still my everything. And, I know somewhere deep down that you still love me too. Please just let it all back in and come back to me."

Naomi looked up at Xavier. The deeper she looked the more reasons she found to come back. She didn't want to live like this anymore, she didn't want to be a monster. And Xavier was right, deep down she still loved him. She'll probably always love him. He was her first love. Emotion began to seep through Naomi's cracks and Xavier saw it. He saw her love for him come back, though it was slow it was still coming back.

"See, there it is. Let it in, Naomi. Please." Xavier pleaded.

Naomi heard Xavier's words and realized she couldn't do this. Naomi didn't want to feel. Naomi didn't let everything she had done, all the lives she had ruined. Naomi couldn't let that come back to her. Not yet. She wasn't ready yet. And just like that, all of Naomi's previous thoughts crumbled under the hurt she feared to feel.

Naomi leaned up to kiss Xavier, there kiss begin to grow passionately, hands all over each other but Naomi was realizing she was feeling the emotion of love starting to creep in so she pulled away from the passionate kiss and backed up slowly to look Xavier in the eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that." Naomi warned before stomping off.

And just like that, all of Xavier's hope for his ex-girlfriend was irradicated.

* * *

Hope stood at the table where the drinks were being held with a red cup in her hand. Hope watched as everyone danced and had fun. The tribrid wished she could partake in the leisure activities but she knew she had to wait and be available for Xavier to report back to. Besides, who would want to even be around Hope? Josie? She was angry with Hope for what she did with Rafael. Lizzie? She was enjoying herself with her own friends. Landon? Things were awkward between them and he was nowhere to be found. Rafael? He was apart of the scandal and them being together wouldn't help the situation, also he was nowhere to be found. Chris? He was with his friends. Naomi? Hope ruined that too. So, Hope stood alone thinking that's what she deserved for ruining her own friendships.

Xavier ran up to Hope, "Hope, it didn't work."

Hope's eyes widened and she turned to face the boy, "What?"

"Naomi... she... I couldn't do it. I'm sorry."

"It's fine. We just need to make sure we find her before the Salvatore School has to have another funeral. Any ideas where she is?"

"I-I don't know where she went."

Hope let out a frustrated sigh at Xavier's news. Before Hope could make a real plan MG walked up behind her.

"Have any of you seen Lizzie? I was planning to talk to her but I can't find her." MG says.

Hope turns to face MG, "No, MG. Sorry."

MG deeply sighs, "It's fine. Sorry for bothering you."

MG began to step back but before he could fully turn around Josie ran up to the group in a frenzy.

"I just got this cryptic text from Naomi." Josie shows her phone to the group, "I'm scared. What do we do?"

Hope reads the text. 'Meet me at the Mystic Grill or it's Lizzie's life.'

* * *

Naomi stood behind the bar of the empty Mystic Grill making a margarita. Naomi was rigorously making her drink when MG, Josie, Hope, and Xavier ran into the bar.

"Where's Lizzie?" Hope asked angrily.

"Oh, Lizzie's right here." Naomi taps her phone and places it on the bar in front of her, "Say 'hi' Lizzie."

Lizzie lets out a bloodcurdling scream before yelling, "HELP!"

Ethan held the phone to Lizzie's mouth who stood outside of the clock on the clocktower with her wrists trapped in handcuffs. Lizzie's heels were the only things that kept her on the small curb of the tower, if Ethan wasn't holding Lizzie back by her arm she most likely would've fallen forward. Every now and again Lizzie would peer down and see how far the fall down was. Lizzie contemplated jumping off, she knew she would be reborn as a vampire due to Naomi's blood in her system but she was conflicted. Lizzie had a whole life ahead of her, a life where she gets to make choices like if she wants kids if she wants to grow old and die with someone. Being a vampire restricted her choices and Lizzie hated feeling restricted.

Back in the Mystic Grill, Hope, Xavier, Josie, and MG stood fearful of Lizzie's fate. Hope knew she had to do something but what? She could stop Naomi now but she didn't want to hurt her then again, not wanting to hurt Naomi will in turn hurt Lizzie. Hope was perplexed, to say the least.

"Why are you doing this, Naomi?" MG inquired.

"Why?" Naomi laughed, "Why? It's because your girl Hope is an idiot, that's why. The day of the dance I told Hope if she tried to turn my humanity on one more time that I wouldn't be afraid to do something drastic. Well, Hope tried to use the love I once had for Xavier to bring me back. Well, she failed. And she broke the deal. So here's me doing something drastic. I compelled a random human to force-feed Lizzie my blood, handcuff her, then hold her on the top of the clock tower. On my command, he'll let her go and we'll have a heretic on our hands. I wonder what dorm she'll pick."

Hope felt great shame at Naomi's monologue. Hope realized this truly was all her fault and she had to make it right somehow.

"Naomi, I'll give anything just please don't hurt Lizzie." Josie pleaded.

Naomi chuckles, "Oh, it's nothing you can give me, Josie."

Josie raised an eyebrow at what Naomi said.

Naomi looks to Xavier, "It's him."

"Wait, What?" Xavier questioned.

"What?" Hope asked.

"The stunt you pulled made me realize one thing: Xavier's obviously an anchor. The fact that he evoked any emotion out of me is an issue and I can't have that. So, I'm giving Xavier an option." Naomi told them all.

Everyone began to feel anxiety rise in them as Naomi had stopped talking to finish her drink. Even though most of the people there didn't talk to Xavier often they all still cared for him and needed to know how to protect him and Lizzie. Naomi finished drink.

"Leave the school or turn off your humanity." Naomi finished.

"What?" Xavier asked as his heart dropped.

"Naomi, you can't do that." Hope stated.

"I don't have anywhere to go." Xavier fretted quietly.

"And he's not turning his humanity off like you." MG added.

Josie decided to stay silent, she knew that she only cared about saving her sister in this situation and that no one wanted to hear that. Especially not in this situation.

"Choose. Now." Naomi orders.

"No! I'm not leaving nor will I turn my humanity off." Xavier shot back.

"Okay."

Silence filled the room for a little. Everyone was on edge as Naomi slowly brought the phone to her mouth.

"Lower her off the edge." Naomi commanded.

On the clock tower, Ethan leaned Lizzie forward only holding her back by the girl's arm. Lizzie hollered as she saw the end in sight. In the Mystic Grill, the group heard Lizzie's screams through the phone.

"You have ten seconds to choose before Lizzie dies." Naomi threatened before beginning to count down.

_"10!"_

"Xavier, don't leave! We'll find a work-around!" Hope yelled.

_"9!"_

"Don't turn off your humanity, dude. We'll find a way out of this." MG stated.

_"8!"_

Josie looked back and forth as Hope and MG continued to say different things to Xavier. Josie knew if she let her opinion out she'd be crucified and her friends will hate her.

_"7!"_

Xavier's eyes darted around the room as he began to sweat profusely and try to find a way out of this.

_"6!"_

"Xavier, time's ticking." Naomi smirked.

_"5!"_

Hope began to think about how her actions led them all to this moment. She knew she shouldn't have said what she said to Naomi but she couldn't help it. She longed to be her friend once more. Hope now realized her friend was truly gone and no matter how hard she tried she would never be able to bring her back. It broke her heart.

_"4!"_

MG thought about everything Naomi had ever done to him leading up to this moment. MG knew he shouldn't feel this way but he felt as though he hated her. He had never hated anyone, but still. Naomi did too many things to be forgiven and this was just the tip of the iceberg. This is made him know he hated her.

_"3!"_

"Josie, what do you have to say? You've been awfully quiet." Naomi pointed out.

"I think this a sticky situation and Xavier should choose what's best for him." Josie stated.

"Oh, come on. I know you have an opinion."

"Yeah, I do. I think you deserve to be locked in a cellar until you desiccate."

Naomi scowls at Josie and continues counting.

_"2!"_

As Hope and MG continued to yell at Xavier, he began to weigh the options. On one hand, if he flipped the switch and turned his humanity off then he wouldn't feel. He wouldn't feel heartbreak every time he thought of Naomi and how he'll never get her back. He wouldn't feel sad every time he saw Naomi and realized that she would feel nothing when she looked back at him. On the other hand, Xavier had no family so if he left he wouldn't have anywhere to go. Well, he did have one person.

_"1!"_

"Ethan-"

"I'll leave!" Xavier shouted cutting off Naomi.

Hope and MG became silent at Xavier's decision. Almost everyone in this situation has lost now.

Naomi smiles, "Good."

Everyone felt a weight lifted off of them knowing Lizzie might be safe.

"Drop her." Naomi commanded.

Everyone in this situation has lost now. MG super-sped out of the Grill to find Lizzie.

"What?" the remaining three asked in unison.

"You break your deal, I break mine." Naomi said darkly.

Everyone ran out of the Grill except Hope who looked at Naomi for a second, just a second. In the second she looked at Naomi she saw nothing. Nothing. No remorse, no regret. Nothing. Hope sighed before following everyone else out of the Grill. Hope ran out to see MG holding Lizzie bridal-style while Lizzie shook in his arms.

"It's okay. It's okay." MG comforted.

Hope let out a sigh of relief. Hope was happy that Lizzie was safe and they won. MG let Lizzie down and Josie hugged her sister tightly. As the group calmed down they heard a voice from behind them.

"Congrats. You won."

Everyone turned around to see Naomi standing with her arms crossed.

"But did you get him?" Naomi asked.

A body hit the floor and everyone turned around to see Ethan laying on the ground, dead.

* * *

Lizzie was sitting in her bed. She was still a little shaken from what Naomi had put her through and Josie sat next to her trying to comfort her from what had happened. Hope knocked on their door.

"Uh, hi. Can I talk to you two for a sec?" Hope asked.

"Yeah." Lizzie said as both her and Josie sat up on the bed.

Hoped sat on the edge of Lizzie's bed.

"How are you feeling?" Hope asks Lizzie.

"I feel like I almost died."

"But I'm glad you're okay." Josie softly smiles looking at Lizzie.

"But I'm not okay, I'm angry, and if that emotionless bitch comes near me... I won't hesitate to set her on fire."

"Lizzie, I know what she did wasn't right but we can't kill her she's our friend despite her emotionless state." Hope tells Lizzie.

"Correction: _was_ my friend."

"Okay, Lizzie." Josie says trying to calm Lizzie down from her rage.

"You know what I'm gonna get some ice cream maybe that'll make me feel better." Lizzie announces as she gets up to leave the room.

"Are you okay?" Hope asks Josie.

"Yeah, I'm just a little drained." Josie lamented.

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

"You should get some rest."

"Oh, yeah, I will. But um... I wanted to how you felt about what I said when Naomi had us spill secrets."

"I think that you shouldn't have kept it a secret. It hurt Landon."

"You've kept your fair share of secrets."

"Well, I didn't keep secrets that shook up our friend group."

Hope tears up as she deeply sighs, "Listen, I'm really sorry about everything."

"Yeah. Me, too."

Both girls lean in to give each other a hug. Lizzie walks into the room with a tub of ice cream.

"I've decided to share this tub of ice cream with you two after the day we've had." Lizzie says walking over to her bed to sit down, "I can sense we are all feeling a lot of emotions right now." Lizzie hands Hope and Josie their spoons.

* * *

Naomi waltzed into Vardemus' office. After what Naomi did the party was stopped and Naomi was called into the office. Vardemus turned around on Naomi's arrival.

"Ah, yes. Ms. Coleman, please sit." Vardemus said before sitting.

Naomi leaned on a chair in front of the desk and stared blankly at the headmaster.

"Very well then." The headmaster cleared his throat, "This is a meeting about the treason you committed today. I was very clear when I said I would allow you to be emotionless as long as you do not give in to your darker urges."

Naomi listened as Vardemus talked. Naomi was listening to make sure Vardemus says something she doesn't agree with. Vardemus stands up and walks over to the little tea station in his office. Vardemus began to pour tea.

"I'm afraid after what you did to Ms. Elizabeth Saltzman, we have no choice but to expel you." Vardemus stated with his back to Naomi.

Naomi thought about Vardemus' words she thought about how she couldn't allow that to happen. Naomi super-sped to Vardemus and slammed his head into the wall twice. After beating him a little, Naomi threw Vardemus onto his desk. Vardemus groaned as he laid on the desk. This was some of the worst pain he had ever felt in his life. Vardemus felt the blood gush from his head as Naomi blurrily approached.

"Errox Femu-" Vardemus was cut off by his screams as Naomi stabbed a pencil into his hand.

"Not today, sir." Naomi smirked.

Naomi grabbed the front of Vardemus' top and slid him off of the desk onto the ground. Vardemus crashed into a bookshelf and books fell onto him. Naomi walked up to Vardemus.

"Don't tell anyone about this and leave the school. If I ever see you again... I will kill you." Naomi promised.

* * *

Hope walks through the front of the school. Hope decided she needed to go on a walk and think about the day. Hope thought about how Ethan's family felt, about how a parent has lost his son and it was all her fault. No. It wasn't her fault. She didn't kill him. It was Naomi. Hope knew she needed to do something about Naomi and soon because who knows what she'll do next. As Hope was becoming spiteful Dr. Vardemus ran up to her and fell onto her. When Hope got a good look at the man she saw how he looked bloodied and bruised.

"V-Vardemus, are you okay?" Hope questioned.

"N-No. I'm not. I-I left a note on my desk. You have to get there before anyone else can see it." Vardemus instructed frantically.

"Wait, what? Who?"

"Naomi."

Hope looked at Vardemus' fearful eyes as she realized the stakes have just been raised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked when Naomi did what she did to Lizzie, it was a good parallel to Caroline with her humanity off. Feel free to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	8. I've Been Keeping a Secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are so so sorry for updating so late we got so busy with school :( 
> 
> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a cloudy winter day at the Salvatore School. It was more grey than cloudy as the crisp air wasn't cold enough for snow yet but was still slightly chilly.

Hope sat at her desk writing, she wrote about how autumn slid into winter and winter slid into winter break. She also wrote about how over the past weeks Dorian had been running the school due to Vardemus' absence. Over the past weeks Naomi had been looming over Hope as if she knew that Hope knew about what happened to Vardemus. Everyone at the school assumed that Vardemus just quit but Hope knew the truth and she was planning to expose it today, at least to the twins. You see, Naomi had left earlier that day so if Hope had any plans of any sort she had to execute them now. Hope did have a plan but, where there's a plan there's a problem: Hope was down four squad members. Landon and Rafael left the night before so she had to get them back to the school today just in case her plan went south. What was Hope's plan? She was gonna catch Naomi today.

* * *

Hope stood in front of Chris, Josie, Lizzie, and Jed in the gym. Hope called a squad meeting in order to propose her plan to the squad.

"So, first off I wanted to thank you all for staying over winter break." Hope started.

"My question is: why did we have to stay?" Jed asked rudely.

"Well, I know you all have heard the reports of people dying all around. They think it's animal attacks but we all know the truth."

"So? Naomi's on a killing spree. Better unnamed extras than me." Lizzie shrugged.

Everyone looked to Lizzie in disbelief.

"I said what I said." Lizzie defended herself.

"Anyways, we're stopping Naomi today." Hope confirmed.

"You're just saying this now? We should've done this ages ago when we still had the entire squad here." Josie commented.

"I couldn't. Naomi's been hovering over me I wouldn't have had time to call this meeting before she caught me up. She's also practically untouchable. The blood she's been drinking makes her stronger and faster than most of the other vampires here. Even if we did have Kaleb and MG they wouldn't have done much." Hope explained.

"Well make whatever excuse you want, but I'm not staying here for anything Naomi related." Lizzie clarified.

"Good. You can get Landon and Rafael." Hope smiled.

"Why?" Lizzie inquired.

"Because Lizzie. What if our plan fails and Naomi goes straight for them? Sure Rafael's there but what about after that?" Hope questioned.

"But--But."

"Just go. And take Sebastian with you so if she does come he's old enough to beat her."

"But-"

Lizzie was interrupted by Hope giving her a demanding look. Lizzie rolled her eyes and stormed out of the gym. Josie followed. Jed exited the gym but Chris stayed because he had one big question.

Chris walked up to Hope, "Uh, what are we gonna do about the Naomi situation as a whole?"

"Um... I'm still working on it. I just kinda gave everyone the workshop rundown to test the waters." Hope disclosed.

"Oh, okay. Well, come up with something fast we don't know how much time we have until she's back."

"Right." Hope sighed.

"Hey, how are you holding up with everything?"

"What happened to Ethan sucks and I can't imagine what his family must be going through but everything is kind of... keeping me distracted. So, I can say I'm doing okay.

"Good."

"Yeah, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm fine, just plotting to lock my cousin up on my birthday. You know, normal seventeen-year-old boy things." Chris chuckled.

"I know it's hard but we're gonna get through this. I promise... Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thanks, Hope."

* * *

Lizzie was frantically walking around her room looking for her coat. As Lizzie was searching she decided to complain a little bit.

"Why do I have to be the one to bring Dracula to his troll-like bride?" Lizzie turns around, "I know why. Hope wants Landon back. That's the only logical reason as to why she'd want that hobbit here."

Josie laid on her back reading as Lizzie complained. Maybe Lizzie was right, maybe Hope wanted to grab Landon and ride off into the sunset. So? Josie didn't care. At least, that's what she told herself. Truthfully, the thought of them back together still bothered Josie a little bit. As Josie was reading Lizzie found her coat.

"I just know if that vampire tries anything I'm setting him on fire." Lizzie slipped the coat on and turned around, "Okay. I did the locator spell and I found my coat. I can leave."

Josie walked over to her sister and pulled her into a tight hug, "Enjoy your trip."

"I'll try."

Josie lets Lizzie free of the hug, "I love you."

"I love you too, goodbye."

Josie watched as Lizzie left the room.

* * *

Alaric walks into the office that was once his. He sees Dorian who has been residing there due to him having temporary control over the school.

"Hey, Ric. What's up?" Dorian asked.

"Hey, Dorian. Have you seen Josie and Lizzie?" Alaric inquired.

"No. I would suggest looking in their room, that's where they hang these days."

"Okay, I will. How's the headmaster search going?"

"Terrible. We haven't found anything outside of Carl the vampire." Dorian's computer made a noise and he rolled his eyes, "And he's taken another job."

"Damn. I mean, is it that bad being the headmaster? I made it work pretty well."

"It's not the worst thing in the world but I'm not you. I'm Dorian, the librarian. Not Dorian the headmaster."

"Yeah. Well, hold it down. I'm gonna find my kids for some winter break fun."

Alaric turned around and exited the room.

* * *

Josie walked through the empty halls of the Salvatore School with a cup of coffee in her hand. As she was making her way back to her room her dad approached her.

"Hey, dad." Josie greeted.

"Hey, Josie. Are you and Lizzie ready?" Alaric asked his daughter.

"Ready?"

"Yeah. We're going to Europe, remember?"

"Oh... that...."

"Yeah. So, where's Lizzie?"

"Uh, Dad, Lizzie left."

"What?"

"Yeah, Hope has this plan that she's work shopping. Apparently, we're supposed to stop Naomi, but part of that plan means Lizzie has to leave to make sure Landon and Rafael are safe."

"Oh..."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Dad, but I have to stay."

"It's fine. Just make sure whatever you do that it puts a stop to all of this. I mean, seven animal attacks and she hasn't been expelled? If I still worked here I'd..."

Before Alaric can finish his sentence he catches Josie's stare practically begging him to leave.

Alaric clears his throat, "Right. I'll leave now. I believe in you, Josie."

Josie smiles as she watches Alaric walk past her and leave. As Josie continued her walk she thought about her dad's words. He was right. Why hadn't Naomi been expelled? Why did Vardemus quit on the same night that Lizzie almost died? Maybe it was nothing. No matter the importance of the situation it didn't change the fact that Josie was continuing the walk to her room.

* * *

Josie laid on her stomach in her room. She had finished the coffee and left the empty mug on a small table next to her bed. As Josie was peacefully reading Hope busted into her room.

"Did Lizzie already leave?" Hope questioned.

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Josie asked in return.

Hope scoffs, "I was planning to tell both of you something but then I ate breakfast, then Dr. Saltzman wanted to talk to me, and..." she sighs, "Nevermind. Forget it. I'll just tell you guys when she's back."

"Why not just tell me now?"

"Because you both need to know."

"Why both of us?"

"Because it's big and Chris can't know."

"Why can't Chris know?"

"Because it'll ruin his birthday."

"Is it Naomi related?"

Hope nods.

"Then I don't care." Josie states before turning her attention back to the book she was reading.

"No, Josie. It's big and I have to tell you guys." Hope warned.

"If it's so Earth-shattering then why not just tell me right now?"

Hope sighs and sits down on a nearby chair, "Naomi beat up Vardemus, told him to leave the school and..." she deeply sighed.

"And what?"

"She threaten to kill him if she ever seen him again."

Josie looks at Hope with a shocked expression on her face.

* * *

Landon and Rafael sat side by side on a greyhound bus. Landon bought tickets for him and Rafael, Landon wanted Rafael to meet his biological father. Landon had doubts because he tried the same thing with MG last year and that ended in a disaster. But he hoped this time would be different.

Landon hands Rafael a card.

Rafael sighs, "Dude, you didn't have to get me anything. I mean, Christmas is only a few days away."

"Okay, then today's as good as Christmas. Open it up." Landon commands.

Rafael opens the envelope up, then the paper that was inside of it, "Um, it's... I have no idea."

"So while you were gone I had Josie do a lineage spell to see if you had any relatives who knew where to find you. I figured it was a long shot, but she got a hit. Your parents."

"My parents are dead, Lan."

"That's what we thought. But the people who raised you 'till you were ten weren't your real parents."

"How do you know that?"

"Because locator spells don't work on dead bodies." Landon opened up the map that Rafael was holding, "This is leading us straight to..."

"North Carolina. The same place this bus is going?"

"I've seen how much you've been struggling. I thought maybe meeting your parents might help you heal. It's your call, Raf."

* * *

Chris and Jed sat across from each other in the library, both of the boys were reading. As the two boys read Jed thought about Chris' birthday and how all day Chris seemed completely uninterested in the fact that he was turning seventeen today.

Jed looked up at Chris, "Are you sure you don't want a birthday party?"

"Nope. I don't want a celebration of any kind. Besides, the year has been crap anyway." Chris stated.

"It's not about this year, it's about the years leading up to this."

"Well, let's see, last year we fought Victoria and her followers and the year before that we fought Malivore which spouted out monsters every week. And don't even get me started on the years before high school."

"What about the years before middle school?"

Chris retracted and looked down, "That's a time I won't have again."

Jed looked to his saddened friend and sighed.

"Will you at least do cake and presents? I bought you a gift." Jed smirked.

"Sure."

* * *

Landon and Rafael walked through the woods. But Rafael was having doubts about meeting his parents so he stops walking. Landon notices and turns around.

"Come on, we're almost there." Landon tried.

"Uh, do you remember last time that you tried to reunite a father and a son?" Rafael asked a tad bit snarkily.

"I just need you to consider that, that was a fail and I've learned my lesson. I just wanted to give you the chance to at least meet your parents and to get away from all the chaos at school."

"And I hear that. Bro, you are the only family that I need. So let's keep moving." Rafael turns around to leave but Landon grabs his arm.

"Raf, please..."

"Let go of me!"

Landon lets go of Rafael's arm in fear while Rafael's eyes glow yellow.

Rafael blinks his eyes and his eyes stop glowing, he turns around to face Landon, "I-I can't... I can't deal with this right now. I just..."

"Hey. It's okay. Let's just get out of here."

A gun clicks alarming Landon and Rafael. The boys slowly turn around to see a man with a shotgun

"I think you boys better come with me." the man threatens.

* * *

Naomi closely followed a jogging lady in the woods. She was planning to drink the lady dry of blood and all she needed was access, luckily the lady was slowly coming to a stop. The lady soon came to a complete stop and Naomi's eyes became bloodshot red as her fangs began to grow showing the monster she truly was. Naomi lifted her head and began quickly going down onto the lady's neck. Right before Naomi's fangs had contact with the lady's jugular,

_"Ad somnum!"_

the lady fell out. Naomi groaned and turned around to see Hope standing in a coat with her hands on her hip.

"Why would you do that?" Naomi asked with tone in her voice.

"Because your little rein of terror stops now." Hope stated firmly.

"Oh really? And who's gonna stop it?"

Naomi's dark looks to Hope were met with smirks from the girl. After a little bit of staring, Naomi took a step forward but before she could do anything, she found herself flying back to a tree at a wave of Hope's hand.

"Turn your humanity on, Naomi." Hope's eyes became yellow as her expression became one of rage, "Or I'll do it for you."

Naomi fell from the tree and stood up, "How?"

Hope smirked and turned her palm to the sky breaking Naomi's left leg forcing out screams, "I'll torture you until you beg to feel something other than immense pain."

Right as Naomi's leg healed she got a massive, blistering headache. Naomi grabbed her head, closed her eyes, and began falling to the ground. The pain began to numb a little and Naomi looked up to see Hope with a hand out. Naomi went into a full attack mode. Naomi super-sped to Hope in order to land an attack but before she could even get close,

_"Corporis impetu!"_

Hope chanted sending Naomi flying backward. Naomi fell onto the ground of the woods and began sliding back but when she found her consciousness she tumbled back and stood up.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Naomi shouted at the now far Hope.

Hope grabbed a rock and threw it at Naomi's direction with force. As the rock flew through the air Hope began to chant.

_"Bruciare supe terram, faciendo ignis ga praemium!"_

When the rock landed next to Naomi it exploded. The explosion created a cloud of smoke that Hope couldn't see through. Hope began to think about what she had just done and as she realized what happened she became sad. She had killed her friend. She had taken Naomi from everyone, Chris, Josie, everybody. And it was all her fault. Before Hope could have a reaction a branch emerged from the smoke and rapidly flew through the air towards her. Hope quickly caught the stick with her right hand but before she could do anything Naomi super-sped her to a tree and began to choke her. As Hope lost breath she looked at Naomi's emotionless, cold, dead eyes. Naomi's cowardliness left Hope infuriated. How could Naomi choose the weak way out instead of talking to someone? Hope's rage took over as she stabbed Naomi on her left side with the stick. Naomi fell to her eyes and looked up at Hope.

"Go ahead, kill me. You know you want to anyway." Naomi laughed weakly.

Hope looked down at Naomi with anger in her eyes. Hope knew this was wrong but she was tempted to take Naomi up on her offer. Before Hope could act her urges she heard the leaves rumble.

"What's going on?"

Hope looked up to see the lady looking at her and Naomi in fear. Before Hope's mouth fully opened to speak Naomi took out the stick and super-sped to the lady before snapping her neck, killing her.

"You may be afraid to kill, but I'm not." Naomi said before super-speeding off.

* * *

Josie and Chris walked around a bakery looking at different assortments of cakes. They had been there for about thirty minutes and they've yet to find a cake. Chris and Josie stopped next to each other facing a shelf of cakes.

"Hm... I can't decide." Chris began.

"We have practically all day for you to pick, so take your time. Honestly, I'm surprised Jed even got you to do anything. You normally don't do anything for your birthday." Josie pointed out.

"I know, I can't believe it either. I've fallen so far."

The group had a small silence before looking at each other and bursting into laughter.

"Why didn't Jed take you to get a cake? I mean, I'm fine being here with you but he was the one that convinced you to do anything." Josie addressed.

"Well, apparently he lied when he said he got me a gift so he's getting me a gift right now." Chris explained.

"Is it that bad?"

Chris looked to Josie, "No, because I'm here with you."

Josie smiled.

"What can I say? You're one of my best friends."

"You're one of my best friend's too."

Chris and Josie smile at each other for a little before continuing the conversation.

"I can't believe how far we've come since freshman year." Chris smiled.

"Yeah, especially you." Josie looked to Chris.

"It wasn't just me, Jo. You've also come out of Lizzie's shadow a lot and I'm proud of you."

"Yeah... I guess I owe it to a specific evil ex from last year."

"Are you sure she was evil?"

A small silence filled the pair due to a conversation topic being lost. After a while of thinking, Chris thought about what to say next.

"I couldn't talk to you in Freshman year." Chris confessed.

"You could've talked to me anytime you wanted." Josie reassured.

"It's kind of hard to talk to someone when you have a crush on someone."

"You had a crush on me?"

"Yeah. Who wouldn't?"

Josie was shocked by this news. Everyone had always assumed Chris interested in boys but this proved them all wrong. On top of Chris' sexuality being a shock, Josie was also shocked to find her when he could've been with or had anyone else... especially her sister who had a crush on him in freshman year.

"Anyone who went for my sister instead of me." Josie chuckled.

Chris chuckles and looks to Josie, "Anyone who couldn't see how amazing you are was a waste of your time anyway."

Josie and Chris happily look at each other as they relished the moment. It was small moments like this that solidified their bond as friends and drew them closer to one and other. Chris looked away from Josie and saw a beautiful chocolate cake.

"I want that one." Chris started pointing at the cake.

"Okay." Josie nodded.

As Josie walked forward and grabbed the cake Chris' phone began to vibrate. Chris checked his phone to see an urgent text from Hope and looked to Josie wearily.

"Josie, we have to go. Now."

* * *

Lizzie was peacefully driving before Sebastian started messing with the radio.

"Would you literally stop pushing my buttons." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"So, she finally speaks, eh? Sorry. But... modern machinery fascinates me." Sebastian said.

"This gas-guzzler is older than dirt. My dad's friend gave it to me and Josie for sweet sixteen."

"We should stop for fuel then. I could also use a proper meal."

"By which you mean..."

"Uh, whoever else stops for fuel."

"You should've eaten before we left."

"You know, you confound me, Elizabeth. You know, when you made me this daylight ring, I assumed it was a ruse. That you merely wanted to spend time together beyond the loathsome confines of your school."

"Well, then, you assumed wrong. The only reason that you're here is because you keep me perpetually un-jolly."

"Well, we both know that's not true."

Lizzie looked to Sebastian. Maybe he was right, maybe it wasn't true. But, she'd never say that. He played a part in making her feel crazy and inferior, and in Lizzie's book that was a grave offense.

"I'm here because you fancy me, obviously." Sebastian smirked.

Lizzie stomped on the breaks causing the car to come to a hard stop in the middle of nowhere.

"You command this vessel like a drunken pirate." Sebastian states.

"I just saw some deer. If you're so hungry, why don't you go eat Bambi?" Lizzie implies.

Sebastian was ecstatic. He had been starving the whole trip and he was happy to finally eat. But... something was off. Sebastian knew he was being played but he decided... whatever. He's always fast enough to catch her.

"Is this some kind of test?" Sebastian asks.

"You bet your ass it is." Lizzie says fake smiling.

Sebastian gets out of the car.

"And you failed." Lizzie says as she drives off leaving Sebastian by himself.

* * *

**J** ed, Chris, and Josie stood huddled in the gym when the doors crashed open. The group looked over to see Hope approaching the huddle in a frenzy.

"What the hell is going on, Hope?" Jed questions.

"We're turning Naomi's humanity on. Today." Hope confirmed.

"Wait, What? What happened?" Josie puzzled.

Hope deeply sighs, "Naomi killed a lady and after she died I went to go hide the body and..."

* * *

**EARLIER THAT DAY**

Hope walks over to the lady's body and begins examining it. Hope looks at the lifeless husk and holds back slight tears as she realizes she has to hide the body in order to keep questions from being asked.

Hope crouched near the body and turned it over when it was moved a picture fell out of the dead woman's pocket. Hope raised an eyebrow at the picture before grabbing the picture to see it's contents. In the picture, She saw the now-dead lady standing next to a kid that looked similar to her. It was her kid. They looked so happy like there were no problems in the world. Hope began to tear up as she realized that child had lost his parents as she did.

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

"Naomi took a kid's mom from him." Hope concluded.

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw Hope become angrier with each word she spoke. They all knew they had to be there for Hope so Chris stepped up.

"What are we gonna do?" Chris asked determined.

Hope looked to Chris with a plan forming in her head.

* * *

"This is all a misunderstanding. We were just lost." Landon explains as he walks into the man's cabin.

The man closes the door, hands the gun to Rafael, and walks past Landon to uncover a sheet that was covering a cage.

"A werewolf cage? Rafael asks.

"I saw your eyes. I know what you are. What you're going through." the man insinuated

"You're a werewolf?"

"No. But I was in love with one."

The man pulled out picture of a woman from his coat pocket, "I met Lucia in Afghanistan. But is he's known what would happen after she took a life, she never would've enlisted." he walked over to Rafael to hand him the picture of the woman, "When we got back to the States, she was like the rest of us: fits of anger, memory loss, trouble with crowds. A classic case of PTSD. Until that first full moon hit."

"Uh, why do you... why do you keep talking about her in past tense? What happened?" Landon asks.

Rafael wished Landon had never asked that. He wanted to keep the perfect fantasy idea that she was still alive somewhere, doing something, anything. Because, well, Rafael had a feeling that he finally found his family. But facts had to be faced... he knew what the man was about to say.

"Lucia was the bravest soldier I ever knew. The only time I ever saw her scared was when she found out she was preganant." the man continues.

"You two had a-a kid?" Rafael asks the man.

"First full moon after she learned she was expecting, she was just gone. I searched for years, but... a solider like her who doesn't want to be found never will be."

Rafael blankly stares past the man talking.

"But I thought about her and our baby every day since. So it's time you told me why you're here." the man walks closer to Rafael staring him in the eyes, "Because you have more than just your mother's eyes, Rafael."

Rafael knew his feelings were true.  
 ****

* * *

Night fell over the school as Chris sat at the end of a large lunch table in the cafeteria with a party hat on his head. The candle-lit table had Josie and Jed sitting in the chairs next to Chris, Josie had a small bag next to her chair. Chris just finished ripping open a small present to reveal a brown notebook that says 'thoughts'. The gift was from Jed.

"Thanks, Jed." Chris smiled.

Jed nodded. Josie pulled the bag from beside her chair and placed it in front of Chris.

"Here, open mine." Josie insisted.

Chris reached his hand into the green bag and pulled out a red Polaroid camera. Chris smiled at the sight.

"Thanks, Jo!" Chris exclaimed.

"Yeah, I made sure to get it in your favorite color too." Josie added.

"It's not over yet." a faraway voice called.

Everyone looked over to see Hope approaching with a large cake in her arms. The cake was topped with seventeen candles. As Hope approached Chris' heart warmed as he thought about the efforts his friends went through to deliver this birthday. Hope laid the cake in front of Chris and began counting.

"One, two, three."

Everyone began to sing out.

"Happy birthday, to you. Happy birthday, to you."

As the group sang Chris smiled as he thought about everything leading him to this point, the good, the bad, all of it. Even though the bad outweighed the good at times, Chris could never say he didn't have amazing friends. Chris would say this was the best birthday party he ever had... if the party was real. No, this was all apart of Hope's plan.

"Happy birthday, to you."

The song concluded. After the song finished, everyone heard slow clapping from the corner of the cafeteria. Everyone looked over to see Naomi clapping and walking toward them with a smirk on her face.

"Good song, everyone. You really didn't harmonize." Naomi remarked.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Josie asked angrily.

Naomi's clapping ceased, "It's my little cousins' birthday, Josie."

"We were happily celebrating it without you." Hope commented.

"People do a lot of things happily without you, Hope." Naomi glared to Hope then automatically smiled to Chris, "I have a gift for you, cousin."

Chris looked around at everyone's angry faces then looked to Naomi, "Wh-What is it?"

Naomi whistled and a random human entered the cafeteria and handed Naomi a small present, topped with a red bow.

"Really, Naomi?" Josie groaned.

"Josie, if you actually had powers of your own you would use them, wouldn't you?" Naomi looks to the human and compels him, "Leave and forget this ever happened."

The human exits.

Naomi holds the wrapped gift out to Chris, "There you go."

Chris hesitantly looks at the gift. The witch knew he didn't want to take anything from her but a part of him really thought she was being genuine. He was wrong. Chris takes the gift and slowly unwraps it in order to prepare himself for what he was about to see. Everyone watches as Chris' calm face becomes that of someone who was holding back tears as if they were going to flood the entire room. What laid before Chris' eyes was a painting of a skeleton at the bottom of the ocean with Chris' dad's signature in the corner of the painting.

"Look, Chris. It's your dad. We finally found his body." Naomi enthused.

Chris looked down and began to wipe away tears.

"Chris..." Jed tried to comfort.

"I just- I'll see you guys later." Chris sniffled before standing up and walking out of the room.

Hope turns to Naomi, "Why the hell would you do that?"

"Because I can. Now, I have a party to go to, I heard the Mystic Falls kids are having a rager and I have time to kill." Naomi smirked before super-speeding off.

Hope, Jed, and Josie all looked at each other trying to figure out what to do now.

* * *

Chris sat on his bed crying. Chris couldn't help it, he had to shed a tear after what Naomi did. Chris was actually having a good time until Naomi pulled that stunt. As Chris was crying, Hope entered the room.

"Hey, Chris." Hope walks over and sits next to Chris, "Look, I know what Naomi said really hurt you but you need to know she's only doing it to hurt you."

"I know, Hope. It's just..." Chris sniffles, "I was having a good birthday. The first good birthday in a long time. And she ruined it. She ruins everything. Her friendships, people's lives, her relationship with me. She's even killing innocent people, Hope."

"I know. I know. And, we can do a redo of your birthday later but... Chris, I'm sorry to say it but we have to go."

"What?"

"Naomi's going to this--this party and we've adjusted the plan to ensure that we capture her there but we need you, Chris."

Chris sniffles and wipes his eyes, "O-Okay. I'm sorry for ruining the plan earlier when Naomi showed up."

"It's fine, but we got to go."

* * *

Rafael and Landon sat on reclining chairs facing each other from across the room as the man was standing by the fire place.

"I thought I had laid the anger under control, but... but it just came back worse than ever, you now? Being at school it helped, cause there was other people like me. But it turned out that it wasn't the right place for us, you know." Rafael explains to the man.

"Sometimes you have to leave to protect the people you love. I think that's why my mom gave me up." Landon adds.

"Believe me, I get it. I know running away can feel like it's the only option." the man says understanding the situation.

Rafael and Landon nod.

"Thank you for everything Walt. Um, I'm just gonna grab some air, if that's cool with you." Landon says then get up to head to the door.

"Uh, yeah. Hey, Lan. I think maybe you were right about coming here." Rafael says with a smile.

Landon smiles then leaves. When Landon goes outside he's thinking about running away but that plan is cut short when he sees a car pull up to him.

"Hop in, hobbit." Lizzie says as she gets out the car

"Lizzie?" Landon blinked in confusion

"One more word and I will feed you to the flames of Mount Doom myself."

* * *

Josie and Jed entered a large house in Mystic Falls. There were people dancing all around them, flashing blue lights, and blaring music. It was a party. The witches did a locator spell to find Naomi here, they assumed she came to this party to kill more people and the group knew they had to stop her.

"Where are Hope and Chris?" Jed inquired.

"Hope said she was gonna talk to Chris, she'll be here in a second." Josie told.

As if on cue, Hope and Chris walked into the party and stopped next to Josie.

"Hey, Chris. Are you okay?" Josie asked the boy.

Chris looks to Josie, "I'm fine. What's the new plan, Hope?"

"Chris, you need to barrier me and Josie in one of the upstairs rooms with Naomi. Once we're stuck in, we're gonna turn her humanity on." Hope instructed.

"What do I do?" Jed questioned.

Hope looked to Jed, "You need to stand guard outside the door just in case we take too long and the barrier degrades."

"Okay." Jed nodded.

Hope exhales, "Okay, all we need to do now is find her."

As the group started making conversation Josie began to look around the party trying to find Naomi. As Josie was scanning the party she saw people, laughing, dancing, having fun. It all reminded Josie of when times were simpler before her friend turned on her. After some scanning, Josie spotted Naomi walking down the steps of the large house wiping her chin of blood. Josie looked back to the group.

"I think I found her." she said.

Josie nodded to the descending Naomi and everyone turned their attention to the vampire. After some peering, the group looked to each other and smirked knowing what they were gonna do.

* * *

After snapping Landon's neck, Sebastian fixed the left tire of the car on the back side while Lizzie is siting at the edge on the hood of the car.

"Well, this settles the matter. You are a terrible pilot." Sebastian says struggling with fixing the tire.

"I didn't think that being with you could get anymore miserable." Lizzie says swinging her legs back and forth.

Sebastian stops fixing the tire, he stands up and begins to walk over to Lizzie, "You are only angry because your plan to abandon me has failed." he begins to take off his shirt realizing he is dirty.

Lizzie stares at his perfect tone body for just a second before asking, "What are you doing? Put your shirt back on."

"You know, I sussed it when I was tracking you down. That is the reason you brought me along, wasn't it? So you could just, what, ditch me like some unwanted puppy?"

"I mean, more like a perk, really. You shouldn't be at the school. You call my friends parsnips."

"No, they're turnips."

"Okay, whatever vegetable that they are, they don't like you. No one does."

Sebastian chuckles, "Except or you, Elizabeth."

"For the last time, I don't "fancy" you or whatever. I might even hate you, Sebastian. You made me think that I was crazy."

"Well, perhaps we both are. For I fancy you, Elizabeth."

"Did that line work in the middle ages?"

"Yes. Yes, it did, as did my abdominal muscles, but all that truly matters is that it's working now."

Lizzie rolls her eyes. "No, it isn't."

"Mm, 'tis."

"Tis not."

"Tis."

"Tis not."

"Tis."

"Okay, you are insufferable." Lizzie hops off the car, "But lucky for me, there is something called an aneurysm spell." she finishes looking at Sebastian.

"Ah, which you cannot cast. Uh, not without touching me."

"I said put your shirt back on."

Sebastian smiles. He knew this would be a long game with Lizzie and he loved playing it, he knew she did too as he noticed the pink blush arriving on her pale face every so slightly.

"Okay, you know what? Whatever. You are forgetting that there is a perfectly good dead phoenix in the trunk."

Lizzie starts walking but is stopped when Sebastian grabs the blonde's throat.

"And you are forgetting that I am dangerous."

"Stop talking." Lizzie lifts her hand to take Sebastian's hand off her throat, "Action is required." she finishes then leaning in to capture the vampire's lips.

Their kiss becomes a heated make-out which leads to Sebastian to pick Lizzie up, carrying her to the hood of the car and never once did the kissing stop.

* * *

Naomi entered a large, empty bedroom and looked around. Naomi was promised to play drink or dare through an anonymous note from an anonymous person. Naomi figured if she was being lied to or set up she'd simply kill the person that deceived her.

"Hello? I came to play drink or dare." Naomi announced.

Just then, the door that was once ajar shut loudly. Naomi turned around to see Hope and Josie standing side by side.

"Ugh! What are you witches doing here?" Naomi groaned.

"We're spelled in here and we're not leaving until your emotions are back on. So turn it on." Hope asserted.

"Nope. I'm not turning it on. So you should turn off the spell and let me out or else Josie here is gonna be without a heart." Naomi threatened.

Hope and Josie were taken aback by this threat but Josie knew she had to be brave. Josie stepped forward.

"Naomi, please." Josie pleaded.

"No."

"So that's it? You're just gonna give up and hurt people? No. You're just gonna give up and hurt Chris and me?"

Naomi chuckles.

"Naomi, Chris is the only family you have left. I don't care if you hurt me but without Chris, you'd have nobody and I know you don't wanna be the last Coleman standing."

Josie's words cut Naomi a little bit but Naomi knew she had to stay neutral.

"Please, Naomi. Turn it on. If not for me then..." Josie steps closer to Naomi, "do it for your family. Chris loves you and he just wants you back. We all do."

Naomi looked at Josie's sincere smile and began to feel it. Sadness. Naomi felt the sadness creeping in and cracking her hard shell of nothingness. Naomi wanted to let the emotion in, to fully embrace it but she couldn't. She couldn't feel all those emotions again. So, she did the only thing she could. Naomi super-sped to Hope and pushed her to the door before speeding back to Josie, force-feeding her blood, holding her arm behind her back, and placing her left hand on Josie's chin ready to snap her neck. When Hope regains consciousness she takes a step forward, ready to hurt Naomi.

"Hope if you do anything I swear to god I'll snap Josie's neck and you'll have a heretic on your hands." Naomi vowed.

Hope froze. She didn't know what to do. Part of Hope wanted to save Josie but another part didn't want to hurt Naomi. Hope didn't even like having to fight Naomi earlier that day, she hated it. Even though Naomi wasn't in her right mind, it was still Naomi. It was still her friend. It was still Chris' cousin. And Hope didn't want to hurt her. Maybe some people hated Naomi for what she had done but Hope understood it. Hope understood hurting people due to your emotions all too well and that's why she believed in helping Naomi not hurting her. Then Hope remembered, this is the third time Naomi put one of her friends in danger. This is the third Naomi hurt the people she cared about. Even though Hope didn't want to go to extremes she had no choice and she knew what she had to do.

"Just let it happen, Hope. Just let her turn me!" Josie ordered.

Hope sighed and closed her eyes. Hope didn't want to have to do this but she had no choice. Besides, Hope has done worse to Naomi so what's another attack? Hope opened her eyes.

_"Ossox!"_

Hope chanted. Naomi's neck snapped and the vampire fell to the ground. Dead.

* * *

Rafael stands up putting his jacket on as his dad walks over to him.

"Sure you have to go?" Walt asks.

"Yeah, I got to had back to school." Rafael said.

"Being a soldier's in your blood. Always moving forward. I'll get my keys. Give you a ride, at least."

"Okay."

* * *

Lizzie and Sebastian sit in her car staring at the stars in the sky.

"I am glad you accepted the truth. You fancy me very much indeed." Sebastian spoke.

"I fancy sex with you. The Jury's out on all the rest." Lizzie corrects.

"Would more copulation convince you that I should stay at the school? "

"Why would you even want to stay at the school? Besides the copulation."

"Because I have nowhere else to go. In my five centuries of being on this planet, little has change in the way people treat each other. This world is cruel to those it considers broken. But the Salvatore school for all it is..." Sebastian chuckles, "It's the kindest place I have ever been. That's why I want to stay."

* * *

Hope stood in front of Josie, Chris, and Jed who were sitting on couches in the common area. Alaric stood up next to the couches.

"I've been keeping a secret from you all..." Hope started.

Everyone except Josie was anxiously waiting for Hope's next words. Josie already knew what Hope was going to say.

"I kept this from you all because it was Chris' birthday... at least that's what I told myself. Truthfully, I kept this because I didn't want you all to see Naomi as more of a monster but after her actions today I can't keep trying to protect her." Hope sighs, "Naomi beat Vardemus until he left the school. She's the reason we haven't had a headmaster for months."

Everyone was saddened by this news. Especially Chris. He couldn't believe his cousin was so vindictive now. Chris stood up and left the common area. Hope sighed.

"You did the right thing, Hope." Josie reassured.

Hope smiled at Josie. Even though Hope was still saddened by what happened Josie's words made it all a little better.

* * *

Josie laid on her bed, exhausted. The events that transpired earlier really made her realize how terrible Naomi was. Josie had her doubts but now she had no hope for her former friend. As Josie was thinking Hope entered the room.

"Hey, Josie. I just wanted to come to check on you and see how you were feeling after everything." Hope stated.

"In the words of Lizzie, 'I feel like I almost died'." Josie quipped.

Hope awkwardly chuckled, "Yeah."

Hope began to play with her hands nervously. Josie tilted her head at the girl.

"You look like you need someone to talk to more than I do." Josie pointed out.

Hope sighed, "Yeah. Maybe I do."

Josie moved over and tapped the newly created space next to her. Hope walked over and sat next to Josie.

"So, what's wrong?" Josie asked.

Hope sighs, "I tried so hard with Naomi, you know. I tried to fight for her, I tried to help her, I tried to see the best in her but after everything she did... I can't do that anymore. I don't know, I guess I just feel stupid."

"Hope, you're not stupid. You're a good person that wanted her to be a good person. But, she isn't."

"Yeah, you're right. But I just wanted her to be one so bad."

"I know, Hope. She was our friend. But, she's tried to kill Raf, Lizzie, me, she killed Ethan, she killed that mom. Hope, she's not a good person."

"I know. I know. I just want our old friend group back. Everyone's doing their own thing now and I feel like I'm losing everyone."

Josie rests her head on Hope's shoulder, "You haven't lost me, Hope."

Hope smiles and rests her head on Josie's. In times like this, it was good to have a friend like Josie who Hope knew she could always count on.

"I just wonder what my dad is gonna do about Naomi." Josie changes the subject.

"We locked her up. Whatever he does from here on is out of our control." Hope deeply sighs, "I just hope he gives her a chance."

* * *

Chris sat on the steps of the garden by himself and sulked. Chris sulked about his birthday, about Naomi, about everything. He hated today. It was the worst birthday he'd ever had. While Chris was sulking, Jed came and sat next to the boy.

"Hey." Jed greeted.

"'Sup." Chris greeted nonchalantly.

"Chris, are you okay?"

"No. I'm not okay. My birthday's ruined. Everything's ruined." Chris puts his face into his hands, "I wish I never came to this damn school."

"Hey, don't say that."

Chris looks to Jed, "What do you want me to say? I hate it here. My cousin is practically a supervillain, my grandparents are dead, and I haven't been this sad since my dad died." Chris sighs, "I just don't wanna be here anymore."

Jed sadly looked at Chris. Jed didn't know what to say or what to do, he just knew his friend was hurt.

"It'll be okay. We'll get Naomi back, I promise." Jed looked to Chris.

* * *

Landon is walking up to the school's entrance when he sees Hope walking out, the pair stare at each other for a second.

"This is the part where you say something." Landon told.

"I'm sorry, Landon. I should've told you when I first saw you after we kissed instead of me trying to keep it a secret. Better yet, I shouldn't have kissed him in the first place." Hope sighs, "And I shouldn't have overreacted when you and Josie were dating... you were bound to move on it was just hard" she sighs again, "to see you with someone else... because I still love you."

Finally, a real a apology. It was from the heart. Landon had been waiting for this moment, he'd been waiting to finally have this talk with Hope. So, what he could he say but...

"I love you too, Hope Mikaelson. I think I always will."

The boy and the girl smiled before walking towards each other and swiftly locking lips as they lost themselves in a passionate kiss. They'd been waiting for this.

* * *

Naomi laid on a uncomfortable bed in the cellar she was in. Naomi was spaced out looking at the ceiling. She was plotting. She was plotting on the multiple ways she'll kill everyone at that school. Alaric walked into the dungeon and stood outside of Naomi's cell.

"Ah, you're here." Naomi stood up and walked to the bars, "I was wondering when someone would come."

"Naomi, you can either stay in here or work with us to turn your humanity back on." Alaric told.

"Hm, let me think about that... no. I like myself the way I am, stone-cold and all."

"Okay, well get comfy. You're staying down here. You're lucky I don't send you to the prison world with-"

"With who? Victoria's followers? Go ahead. Take me. I'm all yours." Naomi watched as Alaric sighed, "Exactly. You won't because you and everyone else really believe I can be saved. Pathetic."

Alaric turns around and begins exiting the dungeon.

"Alaric, when I get out of here I'm killing your daughters! You can't protect them, human!" Naomi called out.

Naomi menacingly laughed as Alaric left the dungeon. Yeah, Naomi had big plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Comment your favorite part, my favorite part was the Hope and Naomi fight.
> 
> The next chapter will be out Thursday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	9. I Think I Found It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a bright winter day at the Salvatore School. The sun was blaring, birds were chirping, Naomi was rotting. Everything was as it should be. Kaleb, Rafael, and Chris were in Alaric's office with Chris and Kaleb sitting and Rafael leaning on Chris' chair. Hope was also there, she leaned on Alaric's desk facing the boys.

"Dr. Saltzman, why are we here?" Chris asked.

"Well, you all are here to help us bring back Naomi's humanity." Alaric stated.

Chris laughs, "No."

"Yeah, I'm with Chris. There ain't no way I'm talking to her." Kaleb asserted.

"Me neither. She tried to kill me." Rafael added.

"Guys, come on, she needs us." Hope chimed in.

The boys blankly stare at Hope.

"Please?" Hope begged.

Hope gave Chris puppy dog eyes that practically pried Chris' souls out of him. He knew he wanted to let Naomi rot but what could he say but,

"I'll make a list."

"Thank you, Chris. Now, I have to go move into my new room." Hope says before leaving.

* * *

Hope walks to her new room because her old room is getting renovated. As she's walking she sees Josie, they smile to each other but it's not a genuine smile it's forced, and both girls know it that it'll take some time for the to be friends again.

Hope finally enters her new room but she walks in to see that she has a roommate and that she takes up half the room, not leaving any for Hope.

Hope walks further into the room to see Alyssa Chang.

"Oh. It's just you." Alyssa sighed.

"Alyssa, what's all this?" Hope questions looking around the room.

"I thought since I'm sharing my room with you I split it evenly. This is your side and that's mine." said Alyssa as she motioned from the more extravagant side of the room to the dull side, almost to tease Hope.

"I'm just used to a single."

"Which is what I had until this exact moment. I go to bed at ten, so no late-night visitors. And I don't want ants, so no eating in the room." Alyssa begins to walk out the room, "Later, roomie."

As Alyssa exits, Hope scoffs. This was gonna be a long semester.

* * *

Chris, Rafael, and Kaleb arrive at Mystic Falls High. Chris had his red polaroid camera that he got on his birthday in a red camera-shaped purse-like bag.

"Why the hell are we here?" Kaleb questioned.

"Well, Naomi took me, Hope, Landon, and Rafael here on the game last year and I'm thinking if we can snap a pic of some graffiti she did that'd provoke some emotions." Chris explains.

"I remember that day." Rafael smiles, "It was awesome."

"So we're looking for some graffiti?" Kaleb asked with an angry tone.

"Yes and our chances of finding something would be doubled if we split up." Chris nodded before splitting from the group.

Soon, Chris was cowering the outer walls of Mystic Falls High for graffiti. As Chris was searching as if he were a police officer, he began to get memories of the year previous, the fun, the fights, all of it. Chris began to get saddened because he knew he'd never have that again and from now on it'll only be darkness. While Chris was looking, he started to think of Christmas break, the challenges he faced. Even though the break was hard he was lucky to have his best friends by his side. Chris really did enjoy his friends.

Somewhere else at Mystic Falls High, Rafael was searching for the graffiti. While Rafael looked at the walls of Mystic Falls High he was reminded of his time with Lunar Psychosis and how terrible it was. Every day he felt paranoid, the days melded together, he couldn't talk to his friends. The slightest sound even triggered him. Luckily, the time Rafael spent with his dad was the exact thing he needed because now he's beaten Lunar Psychosis. Of course, sometimes things trigger him but for the most part he was good. Rafael was the happiest he had ever been. Rafael was beaming too much to even be bothered by the fact that he had to help Naomi.

Somewhere even further, Kaleb was examining the walls of the school. Kaleb hated this. He hated having to do anything for Naomi, in his opinion she deserved nothing. Nothing. After trying to kill MG, Kaleb wrote Naomi off in his mind as nothing but a shadow of a person and a sorry excuse for a friend. Truthfully, Kaleb just wanted to head back to the school and he was only doing this because Naomi was Chris' only family and he cared for Chris. But really, Chris was also being annoying. Kaleb looked around more and more until he found a sign graffitied on the wall that ended with 'Naomi was here'.

"Guys, I think I found it!" Kaleb alerted the group.

Chris and Rafael walked over to Kaleb. Chris took out his red polaroid camera and snapped a picture of the wall-art.

"Thanks, Kaleb." Chris smiled and grabbed the picture.

"Yep." Kaleb rolled his eyes.

"Where to next?" Rafael inquired.

"Next, we're going to the police station." Chris disclosed.

* * *

Hope looks at her schedule as she segued through the halls. She was late because of her run in with Alyssa so she was in a rush. Alaric opens his doors to his office to see Hope.

"You're late for class." Alaric states as he moves toward her.

"Uh, sorry. I had a run in with Alyssa and let's just say it wasn't friendly." Hope recalled.

"My apologizes but she was the only one that had enough space."

"It's okay. I'm gonna go to spell lab now."

"I'll walk you there."

Hope and Alaric begin walking.

"How is it being back?" Hope asks.

"I feel out of the loop. But I just like to stride confidentiality and, uh, nod in hopes that people don't figure that out. But speaking of loop, Lizzie and Josie are avoiding me. Why. What's up?"

"I wouldn't know. Things are still awkward between me and Josie. I mean, I thought we were okay. It's just bad again."

"Yeah, well, knowing you and Landon are together and seeing it are two very different things."

Hope and Alaric stop walking to continue talking.

"I just wish there was something I could do."

"You just have to give her some time, you know? Things will go back to normal soon enough. I hope." Alaric looks over to see Hope's class, "Spell lab."

"Bye." Hope smiles to Alaric then walks inside her class.

"Ric." Dorian says walking over to Alaric.

"Mm." Alaric says turning his attention to Dorian.

"So, I touched base with Caroline, she wants us to find out why Vardemus left with no explanation and make sure he's okay." Dorian tells Alaric as they walk the halls.

"I'm more concerned him enrolling a five hundred-year-old vampire in my absence."

"Technically, Sebastian was in a coffin for four hundred eighty-three them, but yeah."

"Yeah, but we have our recruitment bylaws."

"Which Vardemus revised."

"Not to mention a lengthy admission process."

"Which he waived."

Alaric and Dorian stop walking.

"Do you know that he got rid of the espresso machine?" asked Alaric trying to grasp at reasons to dislike the former headmaster

"He was more of a tea person."

"Look, I need to know more about this Sebastian. We can't blindly let him in here without knowing more about his history."

"You're right. I'll have my intern do a deep dive into the historical records to see if there's any trace of him." Dorian says before walking off.

Alaric is about to walk back to his office but hears footsteps and turns around to see Lizzie jogging down the steps adjusting her clothes.

Lizzie looks up from her clothes to see her dad, "Dad. Hi."

"Liz-bear. You're late for class."

Alaric looks at his daughter as she fixed her skirt. He didn't know what was up and he didn't want to assume the worst... but the worst wouldn't leave his mind.

"Oh. Um, I... I got distracted, and I lost track of time. But it was... it was dumb and irresponsible, and it will never happen again." Lizzie states and walks away to go to her class.

* * *

Alaric sits at his desk in his office looking through paper work but is stopped when he hears a knock at his door. He looks to the door to see Sebastian.

"Sebastian. Sit."

Sebastian sits across from Alaric at his desk.

"Sebastian our school was founded to keep young supernaturals safe from the world."

"Well, my impression is that it exists to keep the world safe from us."

"It's a balance. Look, I'm not convinced you belong here. We don't admit vampires over the age of 17. But... since you've been stuck in that coffin, I might make an exception if you pass our tests." Alaric sighs, "So today you will spend time with the various factions. The goal is to see if you can control your basic urges." he finishes.

"You know who would be an ideal guide is your daughter Elizabeth."

"You stay away from my daughters. Consider this your one warning."

"Well, if I'm so dangerous, who shall be administering this test?"

"The only student who'll come back to life if you kill him."

* * *

After some walking the boys arrived at the police station. Chris walked up to the help-desk where a lady with black hair stood behind while Kaleb and Rafael sat in one of the chairs lined up against the wall.

"Hello, we need to go back there to the interrogation room." Chris started.

"Why?" the lady asked.

"It's for a school project."

Chris placed a note from Alaric on the lady's desk. The lady read the note and gave it back to Chris.

"We'll be right with you." the lady nodded.

Chris nodded and went to sit in the middle of the boys. A thick silence fell amongst the boys. The silence was slightly awkward, but what was there to talk about? At least, that's what Kaleb and Rafael thought but Chris was determined to to make conversation.

"So... how are you, Kaleb?" Chris asked the group.

Chris got no response from the vampire and when he looked over to him he was dissapointed to see him wearing headphones. Chris looked to Rafael on his left.

"How are you, Raf?" Chris inquires.

"Uh, I'm doing good. I'm done with lunar psychosis, I met my dad, Landon's back with Hope. Everything's good." Rafael beamed.

Chris chuckles, "Good."

A police officer walks up to them, "You all are clear to go."

Soon, the boys were following down the small and narrow hallway that lead to the interrogation room. As Chris passed the holding cells he desperately hoped this plan would work. They all entered the room and Chris took in the scenery. The dim light, the lone table, all of it was nostalgic. Chris pulled up his camera and snapped a picture.

"Thank you, officer." Chris thanked.

The officer nodded.

"Where next?" Kaleb asks.

"Now, we're gonna bring it to her." Chris tells.

* * *

Naomi sat on the ground propping her back up against a wall. Naomi had only been in there for a while but she was already beginning to look sickly. Her skin was pale, she had eye-bags, her hair was dry. Naomi felt as though every nerve in her body was on fire. Naomi heard footsteps approaching her cell so she turned her attention to the bars of the cell to see who was coming. Naomi saw Chris, Kaleb, and Rafael approaching her cell with Chris in the front holding a small plastic bag. The boys stopped in front of her cell.

"Oh, good. People." Naomi tiredly stood up, "Here to give me my daily drop of blood?"

"Nope. But... we got you some things of equal value." Chris wagered.

"Nothing's as valuable as blood." Naomi stated.

"Heard that, sister." Kaleb interjected.

The boys looked to Kaleb who was drinking from a blood bag. After some dissapointed looks, the boys looked back to Naomi.

"No, we got you..." Chris pulls the pictures out of the bag, "this."

Naomi sticks her arms through the bars and grabs the pictures. Naomi looks at the pictures for a moment then lowers them to be eye-to-eye with Chris.

"What the hell is this?" Naomi questions.

"It's memories from when you were-"

"What? Normal?" Naomi cuts off Chris.

Chris looks down sadly.

"Look, that was a nice effort or whatever" Naomi brings both pictures to or hand and rips them, "but silly memories won't do anything."

Chris watched with wide eyes as Naomi dropped the torn paper and they slowly fell to the ground. Chris looked to Naomi.

"But if you have a couple drops of blood that could help my case." Naomi smiles.

* * *

Lizzie and MG sat in the common area reading comic books together. Lizzie suddenly gasped startling MG.

"So you get to see all of these amazing alternate universes, but then, eventually everything just resets back to normal, and the heroes don't even remember any of it?" Lizzie asks.

MG nods.

"Lame."

"I got to say, I'm surprised you wanted to hang out. I thought you weren't gonna talk to me ever again."

"Gaslighting me was a reprehensible act, but keep supplying me with superheros in spandex, and we'll call it a wash."

Lizzie returned to reading. MG began to think, he knew two things: Lizzie of all people hates to be called crazy but she hates comics even more. MG then realized, this wasn't a genuine hang out. So, even though he was enjoying this, MG had to say it.

"Okay. Come clean. You-you hate all this nerdy stuff."

Lizzie's eyes widened before she practically threw the book to the ground, "Okay, fine. I'm trying not to have sex with Sebastian again."

Well this was shocking news.

"I though you hated him, too." MG blinked.

"I did, I mean, I do. I just... I'm also incredibly turned on by him."

"Oh, I don't need to hear any of this."

"So we're- we've been having a lot of sex. And- and my mind is telling me to stop, but apparently my body didn't get the message about how much of a feminist I am. So, I'm trying to avoid him until he is inevitably kicked out of school. And comic books are the literary equivalent of a cold shower."

"That's actually a graphic novel."

"Okay, yeah, that's good. Keep saying stuff like that."

"No. This is a seminal work of fiction, not something to run your horny clock out." MG states and gets up, leaving Lizzie.

* * *

The boys walk enter Naomi's room. Chris was saddened by the interaction with his cousin earlier but he was keeping his head high in order to maintain appearances and inspire hope into the other two boys, especially Kaleb.

"Uh... Chris, why are we here?" Rafael inquired.

"Well, one time Naomi told me that her and Lizzie got a pig shirt at a barbecue festival one time and I'm hoping that it'll trigger something." Chris explained.

"Oh, I remember that day. It was fun... the opposite of this." Kaleb stated.

Soon, the boys split up in the room and began looking around. Kaleb looked in Naomi's desk, Chris looked through her drawers, and Rafael looked through the room as a whole.

Kaleb groans, "This is stupid."

"Kaleb, I know it's weird but it's for a greater cause." Chris told.

Kaleb stops and turns toward Chris, "So looking through a desk is for a greater cause? Come on, Chris."

Chris stops and faces Kaleb, "It is for a greater cause, Kaleb. She's my cousin and if looking through a desk can bring her back then that's what I'm gonna do."

"Why are you so obsessed with this, Chris? It's not like she's dead."

"It's not like MG's dead but you're still mad at her."

In the midst of the arguing Rafael pulled the shirt from under the bed.

"Uh, I found the shirt." he said.

The arguing stopped and Chris looked at Rafael.

"Good." Chris walks over and grabs the shirt, "I think I need a little break from this project."

Chris exits the room.

* * *

Landon and Sebastian enter the gym and as if on cue a ball rolls to Landon's feet. He bends down to grab the ball. As Landon comes up, Jed approaches

"Hey. Have you seen from Raf? He hasn't been to practice all day." Jed spoke

"Uh, I think he's doing some project." Landon nodded

Jed looks over to Sebastian, "Tell, uh, Captain Cheekbones. he's got a weird staring problem." he walks back over to his group.

"It's okay. Lots of vampires can't be around one wolf let alone this many. Most vampires can't control their emotions. Downside of all the power, I guess."

"I think having no power would be far more concerning. You know, a little blonde birdy told me that Naomi almost killed your brother. He was powerless and begging for his life, and you were... you were... taking a nap?"

"I was thrown very hard against that" Landon points to the wall in the gym, "brick wall. You can even see a little dent there."

"Mm. Not that you could have done anything anyway, of course, but if my brother was in danger. I would want to protect him."

Landon guts Sebastian with the ball, "He'll play."

A while later they were playing dodge-ball. Sebastian was dodging every ball by super speeding to a different spot but was finally hit the face with a ball making him fall to the floor. After a while of silence, Sebastian quickly got up and gripped the ball that had hit him before turning to face Jed.

Sebastian laughs, "Well played, my lupine friend."

"Rematch anytime, bloodsucker."

"Anytime."

Jed walks away as Sebastian walks over to Landon throwing the ball to Landon.

"That was fun."

* * *

Chris sat on his bed reading the letter he got from his grandparents after they died. He often read the letter when he was in stressful situations, it calmed him down. Chris didn't know why reading that from his grandparents calmed him but he knew it did and he knew he needed it right now. While Chris was sulking Rafael knocked on the door. Chris noticed the knocking and goes to open the door. After the door was ajar Chris saw Rafael standing in the doorway.

"Hey, are you okay?" Rafael asked.

"I'm good, dude." Chris lied.

"Come on, Chris. We spent all summer together. I know when something's wrong."

Chris sighed, "You got me. I'm a mess." Chris goes back and sits on his bed, "I've just been sitting here reading the last thing my grandparent's have ever given to me."

Rafael goes and sits on the end of Chris' bed, "Is it that bad?"

"Yep. I-I'm sorry, I'm being depressing."

"No, it's fine. What's up?"

Chris deeply sighs, "Naomi's my only family and I just want to bring her back but I can't even do that. I'm a failure."

"What? Don't say that, you're not a failure."

"But I can't help her."

"So? Naomi's stubborn and you're trying. Besides, the day isn't over so..." Rafael pulls the letter towards him, "quit reading this letter and let's go save your family."

Chris' eyes widened as he came to a realization.

"The letter!" Chris yelped.

"Uh... yes?" Rafael said confused.

"No, you don't get it. Me and Naomi both got letters when our grandparents died, maybe that'll do something."

"Uh, yeah. That--That's a good idea. Yeah, let's do it."

Chris nodded and jumped up.

* * *

It was lunch time at the Salvatore School. The witches sat with the witches, the vampires sat with the vampires, and finally the wolves sat with the wolves. But that didn't seem to bother MG because he found his way with the witches.

"Hey, Greasley, I heard he's moving in on you're girl. Is that him?" Alyssa asks.

"Well, she's not my girl, and can I sit with you and the witches? I've had enough of vampires today." MG states.

"Oh, you're our favorite vampire. If you hate him, we hate him."

"He makes us look bad with his old-ass Dracula ways."

"So run him out. He's doing his behavioral tests. Make him fail."

"How?"

"Find me a Band-Aid, will you?" Alyssa gets up.

As Alyssa gets up, Landon and Sebastian walk down the stairs.

"So, you get along with wolves. Now we just have to see if you fit in with the vampires here. Uh, we can hang out while they eat. Or drnk, I guess. Animal blood, of course." Landon fumbles his words

"Of course." Sebastian said quietly

A plate shatters in front of the boys and there stood Alyssa Chang with bloodied hands.

"It slipped." Alyssa explained.

With the blood that is on the ground and dripping from Alyssa's hand, the vampires struggle with their urges and they try to get to the blood but is stopped by the wolves.

"Code red. Vamps, clear out. Now!" Dorian shouts.

The vampires all super-speed out.

"Jed, calm your pack down." Dorian demands.

"Wolves follow me." Jed ordered.

* * *

Josie is sitting on the ground in her room, she is preparing to do a spell. After she's done preparing for her spell she begins to chant,

_"Invidium cala mactus!"_

Over and Over until Josie sees a visions about the sandclock breaking, the school on fire and herself with black eyes.

* * *

After nabbing the letter from Naomi's dorm, Chris and Rafael were walking back to Chris' room. Rafael assumed they'd go straight to Naomi's cell and talk to her so he was perplexed by the detour.

"Why aren't we going to Naomi?" Rafael asks.

"Uh... we need one more thing before we head to her." Chris answered.

The boys enter the room and Rafael watches as Chris brings a box titled 'Memories' off of a shelf in his room and starts frantically looking through it.

"What's that?" Rafael raises an eyebrow.

"Well, it's a whole bunch of old pictures from when me and Naomi were kids." Chris looks deeper into the box, "And there's a certain picture that'll hopefully bring Naomi back. It's us on Santa's lap on my birthday, Naomi said she loved that picture because of how scared I looked."

Rafael takes in this information before walking up to Chris and crouching next to the box.

"I'm gonna help." he says before looking through the pictures.

The boys looked, and looked, and looked. Over and over, and over. Sifting through the same pictures almost a thousand times before Chris started to realize the search might be inconclusive. However, Chris didn't want to accept this. Chris knew this was probably his only shot at bringing his cousin, his family back. Chris knew if he couldn't do this he'd lose Naomi to her own darkness.

Chris slams his hands onto the pile of photos, "It's not here!"

Rafael deeply sighs as Chris' frustration created frustration in Rafael as well.

"You guys still haven't given up?" Kaleb asks as he appears in Chris' doorway.

Chris and Rafael turn around and look at the vamp.

"No, Naomi's family and i'm not giving up on her." Chris said in slight anger.

"Well, Naomi's not my family. But you are and you're right. I can't just give up on my friends." Kaleb nods.

Chris stands up and looks at the boy, "What are you getting at?"

"I'm sorry. I should've just shut my mouth and helped out instead of giving you lip all day. It's just... with everything Naomi did... I can't just forgive her and move on."

Chris walks closer to Kaleb, "I get it. Naomi almost killed your brother, anyone would be mad. I'm sorry too. I pushed too hard for this to work, I should've just stayed calm about it all."

"Yeah." Kaleb holds out a hand, "Bros?"

Chris looks at Kaleb's hand before gripping it, "Bros."

"I found it!" Rafael exclaims.

Chris turns around as Rafael stands up holding a picture of a young Chris and Naomi sitting on Santa's lap.

"Great!" Chris smiles before walking up to Rafael and taking the photo.

"What are we gonna do with that?" Kaleb asks.

Chris turns to Kaleb still smiling, "We're gonna bring Naomi back."

* * *

Josie sat in the library doing research about the Mora Miseruim but shes interrupted by Dorian.

"What's that?" Dorian asks.

"Um, an assignment that Vardemus had me working on before he left." Josie explains.

"Yeah, he left, so I'm pretty sure you don't have to turn that in."

"I was actually just working on getting rid of it. So, should be easy."

"Magic nullification? Those are advanced chain spells. You would need another witch. What kind of an assignment was it?"

"I can help. I'm sure we can handle it. I mean, it could be a good practice for us." Hope said interrupting their conversation.

"Have fun." Dorian says walking away.

"Thank you." Josie says gathering her stuff, "But I actually don't need any help, so..." she stands up to put her stuff in her bag.

"Lizzie told me about the sandclock. She thought I could help." Hope states.

Josie looks at Hope who gives her a reassuring smile in return

"How?" Josie raises an eyebrow

"My friend Vincent told me a story about Mora Miseriums that hold the effects of black magic, and how dangerous they can be if they break. Look, you can't nullify the black magic inside, but you can put a protective barrier around the outside. And, I know a good spell for that."

* * *

Landon and Sebastian continue their tour at the old mill.

"Okay, this is the final part of the test: hanging with the witches. Um, I'm warning you don't push any buttons." Landon informs Sebastian.

"Or you'll do what, die over me?" Sebastian jokes.

"It's not me you should be worried about."

"Will you relax? Witches love me."

The boys have make it inside the old mill where all the witches congregated.

"Hello, Elizabeth." Sebastian greets.

"Oh... hey." Lizzie grinned.

"Oh, you again. I must say you heal pretty quickly."

"Right? It's like magic or something." Alyssa mocks.

"And what is that crystal ball for?"

"Emphatic trances. It lets us read feelings that are buried deep down. Can we read yours? Vampires have heighten emotions. It'll be a total rush."

"I, for one, would like that." Lizzie fake smiles.

"Then of course. I do love a good parlor trick." Sebastian chuckles.

Alyssa begins to use the emphatic trances on Sebastian.

"I sense... fear the modern world is terrifying to you. You're afraid they won't let you stay here at the school."

"That's not true."

"You're afraid they're gonna find out all the things you've done and throw you away, like trash off the side of a boat."

"Stop."

"You know Lizzie's better than you and that you don't deserve her."

Landon grabs Sebastian's arm but Sebastian pushes him away. Sebastian then turns his attention to the witches and they cast an aneurysm spell causing him to grab his head in pain.

"Stop! Stop! Let him go." Lizzie yells at the witches.

Sebastian falls to the ground but quickly gets up to leave.

* * *

Night fell over Mystic Falls as Sebastian sat on the bleachers sulking about what had happened with the witches. He knew what he was going to do was wrong but Alyssa was telling the truth and he didn't want Lizzie to hear any of it. Sebastian is pulled from his thoughts when he sees Landon.

"Have you come to gloat, Landon?" Sebastian asks angrily.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay." Landon states.

"The fundamental truth is that I am not. When I was eight years old, my parents, they sold me to a merchant ship. I hated that life, so every port we sailed to, I ran away. But the crew, they always found me again. And they devised very special punishments for me." Sebastian smiles, "This is a cruel world, Landon, and I expect very little from it. But Elizabeth wants me, and I want her, too. I guess none of that matters now since I failed your test." Sebastian finishes then leaves the gym.

* * *

Josie and Hope sat on the ground in Josie's room, they're to performing the spell that puts protective barrier around the Mora Miseruim.

"It's actually kind of beautiful." Hope looks to the Sandclock.

"I guess. If you can look past the visions of doom. Thank you for doing this. I couldn't have done this without you." Josie thanks Hope.

"No, thank you. This is the most normal I've felt all day. You should know Vincent also told me that the sandclock degrades over time. At some point, it will break down form the inside no matter what we do. But this will at least give us some time to figure out how to defuse it."

"Why did Naomi choose me?"

"She's evil and you're a trusting person. And you're more powerful than you know."

"I don't want to be either of those things. The second that she had me doing black magic, my head... it's like it's not mine anymore. I get upset more easily, I'm on edge. Jealous."

"It's not all the magic. When I came back from New Orleans, and Naomi told me that you and Landon were dating I was jealous and so angry."

"How did you move past it?"

"I tried to move on. And I got a lot of that wrong, too. Obviously. But that doesn't mean we can't try again."

Both girls smile at each other.

* * *

Landon knocks on Alaric's door, "What are you reading?"

"It's a book Dorian got me. It's about a band of marauding pirate vampires."

"Sounds high concept. Uh, we finished the tour... tests, whatever."

"And?"

"Sebastian's no more dangerous than anyone else at this school."

Alaric chuckles, "Well, I am surprised to hear that. Thank you Landon.

"For whatever it's worth coming from a guy who broke his best friend's heart, sometimes people just need a chance to get things right."

Alaric nods to Landon and the curly hair boy turns to leave.

* * *

Chris, Kaleb, and Rafael approach Naomi's cell. As they get closer Chris feels anxiety writhe in him as he doesn't know and can't predict the outcome of the situation. While they walk Chris looks around at the dark, stone dungeon. The boys arrive at Naomi's cellar and see the girl continuing to rot on the floor. She almost looked worse than earlier. Naomi looked up at the boys before standing up and looking at them.

"Oh, you three are back." Naomi rolled her eyes, "Did you bring blood?"

The boys looked at Naomi as she cracked a smile. Chris took a deep breath gathering himself.

"Actually, we brought something better." Chris smiled.

Naomi raised an eyebrow before Chris handed her the shirt and the picture through the bars.

"We thought this would help you." Chris stated.

Naomi pulled the items through the bars and looked at them. As she inspected the items, she felt it. Emotion. She began to feel emotion creeping it, all of it, the sadness, the guilt, the shame. Everything. Naomi wanted to push it all down but the picture just kept trying to drag her feelings out. Naomi knew she couldn't give in. She couldn't let herself feel all the terrible things she'd done. Naomi looked back at the boys with a blank expression on her face.

"You really thought going into my room and getting a disgusting pig shirt would bring me back? Or getting this old ass picture?" Naomi laughs, "I don't give a damn about any of this."

Naomi threw the shirt to the ground and ripped the picture in half which in turn broke Chris' heart. Chris began to tear up, he hoped it would work, he hoped he could bring her back. But he didn't. And he just wasted his whole day on her. He was angry of course but he was mostly sad. Chris walked out the room. Kaleb looked at Naomi with a scowl on his face.

"You're an ass." Kaleb stated before leaving.

Rafael followed Kaleb out of the dungeon leaving Naomi to her lonesome.

* * *

Sebastian is feeding on a lady but is interrupted by getting shot in the back with a wooden arrow making him fall to the ground in pain. Alaric soon approached him with a smile on his face.

"You seem pleased with yourself." Sebastian groans, "How did you find me?"

"You think I'm gonna let you walk around my school without an active locator spell? I know who you are now. And I can't let you loose in the world. But I know vampires can change. So I'm gonna give you a chance to prove me wrong about you. But you're gonna have to follow my rules." Alaric tells Sebastian.

"I don't follow orders anymore."

"Then you're gonna have to go back in the box"

"I'll just get out again. And it will be your daughter who sets me free. Yeah, you see, I can control her mind. Oh, how I love that control. I've had her, you know. All over your school. Mm-hmm, yes. No matter what you do or where you go, you will not be able to protect her from me. And you will fail as her father over and over and over again. The only way is to kill me."

Alaric did consider this, deeply. But he knew what a mistake that would be. No. Instead of killing Sebastian and making Lizzie hate him, he did what he's done ten years ago...  
 ****

* * *

Chris stood alone in the garden looking at the stars. He was depressed from the day and to keep himself from drinking his sorrows away he knew he had to come out to the garden and watch the stars. He had to calm down. While Chris was taking in the cold outside air of Virginia, Rafael came and stood next to him.

"You good, bro?" Rafael asked.

Chris deeply sighed, "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."

Rafael looked at Chris' saddened expression.

"Look, I get it. I'd do anything to get my family back too." Rafael consoled.

"Yeah, well maybe it's time I get a new family." Chris lamented.

"Chris, Naomi is your family whether she's good or not."

"Sometimes I wish she wasn't. It's hard, you know. Everyday I wish for her to turn it on and come back, and everyday she doesn't. Not to mention what people say about her- about me."

Rafael was brought down by Chris' words. Even though Rafael felt bad for Chris he also felt a twinge of anger. Rafael didn't have family and Chris giving up on his own family made Rafael angry.

"Honestly... I'm ashamed to even be a Coleman." Chris revealed.

"Chris..."

"Something told me someone's gonna need this." a voice said.

Chris and Rafael turned around to see Kaleb holding a bottle of Jack Daniels.

"No, Kaleb. We're-"

"I'll take it." Chris walked over to Kaleb and took the bottle, "I've decided underage drinking will be my therapy for the night."

With that, Chris left.

* * *

Dorian puts books back up on the shelves when MG walks up to him.

"Hey." MG sighed.

"Oh. Done already?" MG hands the book the Dorian, "All right. So what do you want next? What's the mood?"

"Today sucked. You got anything for that?"

"Let's see." Dorian looks at the shelf looking for a book, "I got a feeling your day's about to get a lot better." he hand the book to MG, "Have you met my new intern yet?" he looks over to his intern and walks away.

MG followed Dorian's eyes to see Kym.

MG smiles, "Kym."

* * *

Josie and Landon were setting up Hope's side of the room.

"I should've asked for help sooner. I was so worried that the sandclock would break, and all that magic would come back to me and I'd end up hurting someone." Josie says fixing Hope's bed.

"But it didn't. We're all safe." Landon reassures.

"I know, and um, I didn't ask because I thought that I'd be okay seeing you and Hope together, but it actually kind of just feels, like, really lonely. And it's... kind of just what I do. I push people away when I need them the most. Because I'm ridiculous."

"Would it make you feel better to hear how I was ridiculous today?"

Josie nods.

"Um... When Sebastian flipped out on the witches, I realized there was nothing I could do to help. I'm not the one of heroes here, and I thought I was okay with it. But now I don't know." Landon sighed

"It's not too late to become one. And you are not ridiculous."

"I missed talking to you like this."

Josie laughs and Landon finally chuckle. The first one in a long time.

"I want us to be friends. Not like ex friends, like actual friends."

"That sounds nice."

The door opens to reveal a surprised Hope.

"What's all this?" Hope asks looking around.

"Just a little something to make you feel more at home." Landon responds.

"It's not exactly how it was, but we thought maybe you might like it if we changed it up a little bit." Josie adds.

Hope pulls Josie and Landon into a hug.

* * *

Alaric stands at his desk packing to go home for the night, he's had a long day and wants to put it past him. When he finishes gathering his stuff Lizzie storms into his office.

"You kicked Sebastian out, right?"

"Uh... I gave him the option to follow the rules. But he, he chose to leave instead."

"So he didn't want to stay."

"No."

Lizzie starts tearing up, "Good. That's-that's good. Uh, honestly, I'm just relived that he's gone."

Alaric looked at the saddened expression on his daughters face. He knew his choice wasn't the best decision but he was sure as hell glad he didn't rip Sebastian from Lizzie forever.

"No, i-it's good. It's a good thing." Lizzie says crying.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Alaric pulls Lizzie into hug.

* * *

Chris sat on his bed drinking dancing to music and drinking from the bottle. He'd finished most of it and was wasted, going on hammered. Chris drank and with each sip he felt another problem slip away. His stab wound, gone. Naomi, gone. School, gone. Chris loved it. It was euphoric. To feel happy for once even if he was just riding high on a bottle of a drink he shouldn't even have in his possession. Chris' party was interrupted when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in!" Chris drunkenly said.

The door opened to reveal Myles standing in the doorway.

"Hey, so the other witches are complaining about the noise level in the room... so are the wolves... and the vampires." Myles disclosed.

"It's not that loud." Chis excused himself.

"Chris, it sounds like one of Naomi's parties in here. And, is that alcohol? Are you drunk?"

"No, I didn't even drink that much." Chris sloppily held up the almost emptied bottle.

Myles rolled his eyes before closing the door, walking over to the speaker and shutting off the music, then swiping the bottle from Chris.

"What are you doing?!" Chris asked angrily.

"You're wasted. Lay down." Myles commanded.

"No!"

Myles looked at Chris with an almost commanding gaze. Chris rolled his eyes.

"Fine." Chris said before clammering under the covers.

"Good." Myles turns off the lights in Chris' room and heads for the door, "Goodnight."

Chris sees Myles about to exit the room and began to feel lonely. Chris felt as though he needed someone around after the day he had and since his roommate Noah wasn't there, Myles was his only option.

"Wait." Chris yelled.

Myles stopped and looked at Chris.

"Can you stay? Please?" Chris begged.

Myles looked at Chris' pleading eyes. Myles knew it wasn't wise to stay in the room because if he did he knew rumors would start amongst the wolves, Chris would freak out in the morning, and Noah, Chris' roommate would probably enter at any moment not to mention the high chances of them hooking up. Myles had plenty reasons to leave the room now but looking into Chris' eyes made Myles sad. Myles knew if he left now he'd be a bad friend.

"Fine." Myles sighed.

Myles closed the door once again and climbed under the covers next to Chris.

"Go to sleep." the wolf commanded.

"But I want you to be closer." Chris whined looking at Myles.

Myles let out a hard breath before bringing Chris into a cuddle, "Is that better?"

"No, closer."

Myles looked at Chris in his eyes. Chris' eyes told Myles everything he needed to know about the situation. Myles knew what Chris wanted but he didn't want to take advantage of Chris. He knew what was smart.

"I can't." Myles stated.

"Why not?" Chris puzzled disheartened.

"Because, you're drunk and I'm not like that."

Chris caresses Myles' cheek, "It's okay."

Chris' hand on Myles' hot cheek made Myles happy. He loved when him and Chris were close like this. But, Myles knew this wasn't right. Then again, sometimes what's right needs to be put away to make room for what you want. And Myles knew what he wanted. Myles also knew what Chris wanted. Myles decided he had to take what he wanted, so he leaned in and kissed Chris. The kiss was tender, soft, but also passionate. The kiss turned into a make-out which turned into Myles climbing on top of Chris not stopping the kiss. The boys' hands traveled each other's bodies with Chris moving his hands from Myles' back to under his tank top and back again. While Chris pulled Myles' closer, Myles began to take off Chris' shirt. Once Chris' torso was free of clothing he pulled Myles closer to him and Myles moved to Chris' neck.

* * *

Josie and Lizzie's are in a night of deep sleep, so deep that neither of them can hear the Sandclock cracking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked the last scene that Chris and Myles shared.
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	10. You Obviously Don't Want My Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a dark and late winter day at the Salvatore School. The moon shined brightly and the students in the students began winding down for the night. Chris looked over to see Myles laying next to him in a white tank top. Chris was in Myles' room after some illustrious time doing activities that they'd both prefer not to say.

Chris laid there next to Myles looking up at the ceiling. As Chris looked up he thought about him and Myles. Myles had been asking Chris what they were but Chris was yet to have an answer because he didn't know. He didn't know if what they were doing was just a distraction or if Chris was really into it. Chris knew he had to find out before he answered Myles' question because he didn't want to break his heart. Chris looks at Myles and sighs.

"What's wrong with you?" Myles asks suddenly.

"You're awake?" Chris asked in shock.

"I've been awake for ten minutes." Myles sits up, "And you have been sitting there thinking the whole time. What's up?"

"Nothing." Chris sits up, "I'm fine."

"Okay, then... what are we?"

Chris looks at Myles before he climbs out of the bed and slips his pajama pants on.

"We have been doing... this for a couple of weeks now. And you still haven't answered that question." Myles pointed out.

"I'm not ready to answer it yet." Chris states.

"Well, it's a hot topic right now."

Chris gives Myles a blank look before walking to the door, ready to leave.

"That's my shirt." Myles calls out.

Chris shoots Myles another glance before exiting the room.

* * *

Hope enters her room to see Alyssa and Jed making out on her bed.

Alyssa stops kissing Jed to see Hope standing in the doorway, "Are you blind?" Alyssa moves to sit up, "I spelled the knob to do not disturb."

"I need my chemistry of magic textbook. And more importantly. why are you on my bed?" Hope asks as she walks in to get the textbook.

"I thought it'd be nice if it saw some action."

"I'm sorry Hope." Jed says now standing at the doorway.

As Jed left, Hope store daggers at Alyssa. Hope turns around to leave the room,

"I'm crashing at Landon's." she says as she exits

"Have fun holding hands." Alyssa says getting off of Hope's bed.

* * *

Josie sat cross-legged in front of a spellbook and the sandclock, with candles all around. She was chanting, ever since she noticed another crack in the sandclock she had been looking for a way to either get rid of the magic in the sandclock or get rid of it altogether.

Josie finished chanting and when she opened her eyes she saw nothing. No effect. She sighed and looked down at the spellbook. She knew there was some way to solve her problem she just had to find the spell. So she flipped through the spellbook. Most pages in the book gave her nothing, but she found one page that seemed to have what she needed. It was a manifestation spell, a spell that would allow Josie to manifest all of her dark emotions into a physical form that Josie could kill to purge herself of her negative emotions. She also read that the spell requires you to focus all of your negative emotions into it and if you do not, a monster could be created. After Josie reads up on the spell she siphons a spellbook and begins chanting.

_"veniam rogaturus viribus meis tenebris lumen opportuno. et qui quaerunt animas daemonum dimittere, liberabo eas huius vitae miserum!"_

But, as Josie was chanting she began to think about the crack in the sandclock, Naomi almost killing her and her sister, and everything but the spell. It wasn't long before Josie realized she lost focus on the spell. Then,

_Boom!_

A wave of black magic hit Josie knocking her out. Upon Josie's unconsciousness a new monster was created and was standing with Josie's head at its feet. This monster looked like Josie, except it wasn't her. Merely a shape-shifter taking the form of its creator. The monster looked to Josie with a blank expression, studying her every feature. The monster couldn't believe it was created by someone so weak. No matter, the monster waltzed out of the room knowing what it's mission was. Josie didn't know this because she was sleep but she has doomed herself.

* * *

The next day, Alaric, Lizzie, and Josie were all in Alaric's office they were trying to come up with a long-term solution to keep the sandclock from cracking anymore because of the protection spell that Josie and Hope did work but it would eventually wear off.

Lizzie was holding the sandclock in her hands, looking at the black magic course through the object. She eventually tries freezing the sandclock but it inevitably unfreezes going back to its original state.

"Okay, that's enough. We're trying to stop it from exploding, not speed up the process." Alaric says as Lizzie sets the sandclock down on Alaric's desk. "We have tried twelve different spells. This is... not a problem that magic can fix."

"Well, it's better than your solution of covering it in concrete and dropping it in the ocean." Lizzie states now standing by Josie.

"Maybe I deserve the black magic to just boomerang back to me." Josie comments as she sat down.

"Just cut yourself some slack, okay? You made a mistake." Alaric replies trying to comfort a distressed Josie.

"Wait. What if we try Dad's idea, but better? Instead of dropping the discount lava lamp in the ocean, we drop it in a place where magic can't escape. The prison world." Lizzie thought out loud.

"Absolutely not."

"No, this is perfect. There's a celestial event tonight. A meteor shower and that is what we need to make the ascendant work, right?"

"Yeah, that and Bennett blood." Josie says standing up next to her sister.

"No, I said no! I will figure this out. Okay? Don't do anything while I'm gone." Alaric tells his daughters before leaving.

"It's bad enough that Sebastian ghosted me, but now Dad's acting like an annoying control freak." Lizzie scoffed.

"He's not gonna let us anywhere near that prison world with our psychotic Uncle Kai." Josie remarked.

"Then what if we send it to a different one? Make a new ascendant and a new prison world with no homicidal uncles."

"It's gonna take a lot more of magic."

"We did it when we were five."

"With Aunt Bonnie. I mean, we can't do this alone."

"Then I'll find someone. How hard could it be?"

* * *

At the docks, Hope was training Landon to fight because he doesn't know how and Hope thought it would be good for him to learn how despite he can't really die and Landon wanted to know so it'd be good to teach him... at least that's what Hope told herself. Hope harshly hit Landon with a bamboo stick.

"Okay, that was a little hard." Landon tells his girlfriend.

Hope didn't hear him, she was angry and as angry people do, she let it out... problem on the wrong person but at least she was letting it out. Hope struck Landon again but this time with enough force to knock him down.

"Ow. Okay, um, to be clear, when I asked for training, I sort of meant for beginners." Landon clarifies, now on the ground after Hope had beat him.

"Yeah." Hope says helping Landon up, "Sorry. It's just, Alyssa Chang has me all worked up. That girl has no boundaries. She takes all of my stuff and every day she has a new scented candle. One of which smelled like bacon. I think she's trying to gaslight me."

"Yeah, bullies'll do that. Trust me, I pretty much have a Ph.D. on the subject." Landon chuckled.

"She makes me long for the days when I could toss a monster into the Malivore pit."

"Well, I know this might not sound like the most action-packed advice, but, um... maybe just try talking to her. Bullies hate being confronted."

"I guess I could try that, Dr, Kirby."

"Great. Uh, how about some more sparring first? Maybe some judo or Kenpo? Aikido?"

"Why don't we just start with a basic jab? Have you walking instead of running head first into danger."

* * *

"It's definitely dangerous. It's a Mora Miserium. If it shatters, all the black magic goes into Josie Oh, and, here..." Alaric grabs the box from Emma.

Alaric and Emma are walking the halls of the school. He's talking to Emma about Josie's situation to see if another, wiser witch can come up with a better plan than what his daughters have planned.

"I didn't know those still existed. Let alone how to repair one. But... let me have-"

"Emma." Dorian said cutting off his ex.

"Dorian." Emma smiles at Dorian as he grabs the box out of her hands.

Alaric clears his throat, "I'm gonna let you two catch up." he hands the box he was holding to Dorian. "I'm gonna find myself a bomb expert."

Alaric leaves, leaving just Emma and Dorian... and awkwardness.

"You're in town?" Dorian questioned.

"Ric asked me to run Coven Day. Apparently Amelia called out sick today."

"Yeah... You flew from Japan for Coven Day?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Huh."

The pair looked at each other in silence for a second before clamoring past each other.

* * *

Hope enters the gym to see students all around separated into groups. Some chanted, some read, and some sat on the metal fold-out chairs in front of a small platform. Hope immediately spotted Chris sitting in one of the metal chairs. Hope was looking for Alyssa but she assumed Chris might've seen her, so she walked up and sat next to him.

"Hey, have you seen Alyssa?" Hope asked.

"No, why?" Chris questioned in return.

"Well, I talked to Landon and I've decided trying to make amends with Alyssa would be a lot more useful than trying to kill her."

Chris chuckles, "Well, I haven't seen her."

"Damn, I guess I'll have to try again later." Hope says in an obviously fake sad tone.

"Yeah..."

Chris started thinking about his situation with Myles and he knew he'd never come to a good conclusion if he didn't have someone else's opinion. So he decided to tell Hope.

"Hope, can I talk to you about something?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah what is it?" Hope pondered.

"Well-"

Before Chris could finish his thought, the doors of the gym flew open and everyone turned to see Alyssa standing in the threshold.

"Glad you decided to join us." Emma fake smiles.

"Sorry, I just really didn't want to be here." Alyssa chuckles.

"We'll talk later. For the rest of you, enjoy. You'll find that what you get out of Coven Day is what you put into it."

Hope spots Alyssa and walks over to her to confront her about the behavior she's been displaying, "Hi. Now I know we don't see eye-to-eye, and I'm sure you probably weren't super excited about having a roommate-"

Alyssa cuts Hope off, "Oh, I don't mind having a roommate. I just don't like you."

"Okay. Um... Maybe we could talk about boundaries. Start over."

The other Josie appears behind Alyssa, whispering in her ear, "She's blaming you for everything. They're going to get rid of you unless you get rid of her."

"You're right. We should start over. Back to when I had to the room to myself." Alyssa answered before walking away.

Noah stood on the platform in front of the metal chairs with a presentation board on a stand next to him. He was beginning to get nervous, he didn't want to make a fool of himself in front of everyone. He began to look around. Soon enough, he laid eyes on Hope and Chris who smiled, reassuring him. Noah cleared his throat and pointed to a picture on his board.

"Black magic. It's the magic that we're all told not to do. Well, last year I did a lot of it and I can tell you with complete certainty that you shouldn't do it." Noah started.

"Well, none of us are weak-minded and easily manipulated so I think we're all safe from it." Alyssa snickered.

As Alyssa and her friends began laughing Noah started looking around. When he glanced at an alternative entrance to the gym he saw Josie entering. Or at least, he thought it was Josie.

"Josie? What are you doing?" Noah mumbled to himself.

"Oh, look! The puppet lost his wooden brain. It wasn't much use anyway." Alyssa jabbed.

Alyssa's words cut Noah deep. Maybe he was just a puppet, maybe he was weak. Due to sadness and embarrassment, Noah hung his head and walked off of the platform, then out of the gym. Chris stood up and went after Noah.

"That's detention Alyssa." Emma announced.

"Do you even work here?" Alyssa questioned.

"I do today."

"Fine. It couldn't be worse than this."

"I don't know. Being alone in a room alone with you? As your roommate, that sounds like hell." Hope says from her seat.

The other Josie appears behind Hope, whispering in her ear, "Good, Hope. Don't let anyone make you look weak."

* * *

Hope was walking through the common area but was stopped by Landon, "Hey. How'd it go with Alyssa Chang? You guys BFFs?"

"You cannot protect him. Get rid of him. Before you lose him." The other Josie says to Hope.

"Your advice was useless, Landon, just like you." Hope states before walking away.

After Hope said that and parted ways with Landon, Noah watched in interest as the fake Josie followed Hope out of the common area. As Noah was taking mental notes of the situation, Chris came up and sat next to him.

"Hey, are you okay? Sorry, Alyssa Chang is an ass." Chris sighs.

"I'm fine but... we need to talk to Landon." Noah states.

Chris raises an eyebrow at Noah's words.

* * *

Landon sat on the floor of his room with books sprawled out. He was looking for answers as to why Hope was acting the way she was, he knew it wasn't her but what was it? As Landon was failing to find answers, he heard a knock on the door.

"Uh, come in." Landon said.

Chris and Noah opened the door and Landon looked up at them and see Noah holding a large spellbook.

"Chris? Noah?" Landon stands up, "What are you guys doing here?"

"We think there's a new threat to the school." Chris stated proudly.

Landon raised an eyebrow at Chris' claim.

"Um, we have a few ideas as to what's wrong with Hope." Noah added.

"Go ahead." Landon said.

Noah opens the spellbook and begins flipping through pages, "Well, one time I saw this spell in Amelia's grimoire." Noah stops flipping and points to a page, "Ah! It's a manifestation spell. It's supposed to manifest your bad emotions into a physical form that you kill to purge yourself of all your bad emotions, after it's dead you're supposed to feel lighter and lighten up anyone around you. The spell is super advanced and needs to be done with complete focus, otherwise, you'll get the opposite effect. Instead of a harmless manifestation, you get something evil and something that brings other people down."

"Basically, it makes everyone more angry and insecure than normal. Which is obviously bad for high schoolers." Chris commented.

"So it makes everybody mad?" Landon asked.

"It feeds off strife." Noah nodded.

"It becomes stronger with each person it affects. When there's enough discord and chaos it gains a physical form." Chris explained.

"Right now it's out of phase, invisible because it's the opposite of what it should be and what it should be is visible. Luckily, I can see it cause of all the dark magic I did last year. Dark magic can sense, and in this case see other dark magic." Noah informed.

"Someone had to have done the spell to manifest this thing right?" Landon puzzled.

The boys nodded.

"Then who's manifestation is it?" Landon questioned.

"Landon... it's Josie's." Noah disclosed.

* * *

Emma walks around a group of witches that are sat in a circle.

"So... we are going to try a meditative exercise to calm our nerves..."

"They are so soft. Only you can protect them all." The other Josie tells Hope.

"Really? Some hurt feelings, and this is what we're doing? It's no wonder I have to do everything myself." Hope said aloud.

Emma stops next to Hope, "Sounds like this will be especially helpful for some of us." she continues to walk around the circle, "Now close your eyes. Focus on your breathing..." Emma takes a deep breath in and exhales out, "...and embrace the silence."

Before anyone can do what Emma said, Lizzie walks storms in, "Emma, could I borrow you for a sec?"

"We're in the middle of something." Emma tells Lizzie.

"So am I, and my thing doesn't include, like, "Kum-Bah-Yah" circle time."

Emma sarcastically chuckles, "Sit."

Lizzie sighs.

"You and your sister should have been here from the start. Again. Eyes closed. Focus on the silence." Emma finishes.

Lizzie drags a chair beside Hope and sits down.

"Thank you." Emma smiles.

* * *

Alaric sits at the bar with Sheriff Mac. He thought he should try and catch up with her and see how she was holding up ever since Ethan died and to ask for advice with Josie's situation.

"I've tried everything. Freezing it, covering it in concrete, defusing it, nothing works. And if this bomb goes off, it will destroy everything." Alaric explains to Mac.

"Sounds intense." Mac responds.

"Yeah."

"But I thought you wrote true crime."

"Well, you know, the genre market's hot right now."

"Gotcha. Uh, so why don't you just have your character blow up the bomb?"

"Because the character's desperately trying to keep it from exploding."

"Actually, that's the general render-safe protocol for any explosive. Detonate it from a distance."

"Well, what if there isn't a safe distance?"

"That's how we did things in the EOD. But it's fiction; you can just make something up, right?" Before Mac can say anything else her she gets a text, "Great. Maya just landed herself in detention. Apparently, she skipped school again."

"Well, listen, Maya, I would say is still grieving the loss of her brother if anything she's probably at home."

Mac gives Alaric a nod.

"How are things since... Ethan?"

"Things are hard, to say the least. But moving out of town was a step in the right direction, I think it should be good for me and Maya."

"That's good. You know... you can call me anytime if you ever are feeling down."

"I'll keep that in mind." Mac takes a sip of her drink.

* * *

"Eyes closed. Focus on the silence." Emma instructs the witches,

_"Cessabit orbis."_

she chants, making a sphere appear above the witches, "I've summoned a sphere. It represents your collective thoughts and emotions. Our goal is to keep it a calm green that represents serenity and peace of mind."

The other Josie appears behind a witch in the circle, "She's using you."

"I know you're just using me for cryptozoology homework." the girl says.

Other Josie appears behind another girl in the circle, "They talk behind your back."

"Me? I know that you're the one talks behind my back." the girl responds.

The sphere begins to flux between green and red as the arguing begins. Emma finds herself worried as the arguing begins.

"Your negative thoughts are polluting the sphere, changing its color. Focus, witches."

Other Josie now appears behind Alyssa, "They judge you, but they're not better than you. Tell them."

"I don't know what's worse, Hope stealing Josie's loser boyfriend, or Lizzie getting dumped by Sebastian when she's the only girl he's met since 1509." Alyssa takes a shot at Hope and Lizzie.

At those sudden words, both Hope and Lizzie stand up angrily.

Other Josie appears behind Lizzie, "If you were enough, he wouldn't have left. Show you're enough."

"At least I have a family, unlike you, orphan." Lizzie says rudely.

_"Incendia."_

Alyssa chants throwing the fireball towards Lizzie but Hope interferes and catches it with her hand. The sudden action causes an argument with all the witches, Emma looks aroud at the chaos wondering what went wrong before deciding to stop the arguments.

"That's enough! Everyone, go to your rooms and cool off." Emma commanded.

Alyssa begins walking out but she makes sure to bump shoulders with Lizzie.

Before Lizzie can do anything she's stopped by Hope, "Lizzie, Lizzie." Lizzie turns around to face Hope, "Something's wrong."

"I will tell you what is wrong, okay. That hair. That shirt." Lizzie says in disgust.

Hope glares at her.

"Oh, okay. I see you have a point there. What is going on?"

* * *

Kaleb and some vamps are trying to walk past Jed and the pack but Jed won't let them pass.

"Okay, here, uh, Snoopy, I know you haven't been housebroken, but I'm gonna need you to get out of my way." Kaleb warns.

"Or what, you gonna challenge me to a dance-off?" Jed says pushing Kaleb back.

"Ah, very funny, wolf. Let's go play fetch."

Other Josie appears nearby the boys knocking a vase off a table making the vase shatter.

* * *

Noah, Chris, and Landon take a sharp turn and begin walking through the bustling halls of the Salvatore School. They were looking for Josie's dark form and they've had zero luck so far. Honestly, Noah was beginning to think it was a lost cause.

"Where is it?" Chris asked looking around.

"I think I lost it." Noah admitted.

"Lost what? Landon's fashion sense?" a voice called.

The boys turned around to see Hope and Lizzie.

"You said my look was classic." Landon reminded.

"And you believed that?" Lizzie shot, "Sorry."

The boys turned around and continued walking as the girls followed.

"We're looking for the cause of all of this." Noah informed.

"Which is?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"A dark manifestation of Josie's insecurities." Noah explained.

"Josie?!" Lizzie questions.

"Yeah, it's a spell gone wrong and it's making everyone act like-"

"You." Landon cut Noah off and looked at Lizzie.

Lizzie glared at Landon in response.

"It's invisible and only I can see it because of all the black magic I did last year." Noah nodded.

The girls stopped in their tracks and broke into hysterical laughter. The boys stop and turn around to look at the girls in confusion.

"Noah is our only hope!" Lizzie laughed.

"We're doomed!" Hope cackled.

"Hey, focus! It's gaining strength by the minute. Once it's strong enough it'll come onto our plane and we'll have to stop it." Landon tried to inspire.

"You know, it's much less impressive when you give the speeches. That was all me." Lizzie informed.

"Okay, what's the plan?" Hope asked.

* * *

Alaric and Mac are still at the bar they're now exchanging stories about their kids.

"Then I get back home and Maya is on her best behavior. And you do not have to be a cop to realize..." Mac starts.

"That she's hiding something." Alaric interjects.

"Yeah. That's when I hear a noise in the living room. I open the closet door to find..."

"Let me guess. It's a girlfriend."

"I wish. It was like a clown car in there. Five kids, one keg. I don'e even know how they all squeezed in there."

"Yikes. So, what'd you do next?"

"Mm... my first instinct was to cuff them and drag them all down to the station. But I calmed down and I did the reasonable thing that we always do, because... that's what we have to do, right?"

"I-I lie to my girls and keep secrets to protect them, so I'm not sure I'm the right person to be asking for parental advice."

"Well, I'm a little desperate. My good kid just... died."

"Maybe trust Maya to make the right decisions on her own."

"Then perhaps you should let your daughters solve their own problems sometime."

* * *

Dorian and Emma stood in the auditorium arguing while the students of the school looked at them worried.

"I asked you a simple question. Why does everything have to be a secret with you?"

"Me? Oh At least I can open up. You're never emotionally available."

"Emotionally available? You took a job in Japan!"

"And you never told me how that made you feel."

"Um..." Alyssa interrupts the couple.

"What?" Dorian and Emma say in unison.

Alyssa points to the other Josie.

"Josie?!" Dorian says confused.

* * *

Noah, Chris, Landon, and Hope were all in the library. The boys sat at a table flipping through spellbooks while Hope picked books from the shelf to read. Noah was happy to be able to help solve the issue but he was also worried that he'd mess it up. He often does mess things up but those times are little mistakes, if he messes this up and someone gets hurt it'll all be his fault. Noah flipped through the pages and found a solution.

"It's weak to black magic." Noah revealed.

"Wouldn't that just make it stronger?" Chris questioned.

"No, a blast powerful enough would overload and kill it."

"You can see it. Couldn't you do it?" Landon asked.

"I can, but I'd have to get the locket I put all my black magic in from last year out of Amelia's office." Noah informed.

"Let's go."

"Wait... won't the magic just ricochet back to the original host?" Chris asked Noah.

"I mean, it'll all go back into Josie but... it-it's okay cause we'll find a workaround." Noah tried to reassure.

"Nope. Don't even think about it." Hope dictated.

"Why Don't you believe in me?" Noah pondered.

"Because, Noah you're not a hero. If anything you've been more of a villain than a hero. And you're just doing the same thing Landon's trying to do with his training: trying to fit in." Hope remarked.

Once Hope realized what she said she turned to the boys, "Sorry." she said.

"You know I train so I can help you, right?" Landon asks.

"If I need anyone to die or be manipulated into doing my dirty work, I know who to call." Hope snickered.

Noah sighed, "You obviously don't want my help so I'm leaving." he gets up from the table and walks out of the library.

"Noah, I'm sorry." Hope deeply sighs, "Sorry."

"You know, this thing magnifies insecurities. Not creates them." Landon informed.

Hope sat across from Landon, before Hope had an opportunity to respond, Alyssa walked up to her cool.

"I'm gonna go." Chris says before getting up and exiting the library.

"What is it, Alyssa?" Hope asked obviously irritated.

"Josie's causing mayhem in the auditorium. So, yeah." Alyssa disclosed.

Hope chuckles, "Funny, that's how everyone here feels about you."

Alyssa groans and walks out of the library. Hope felt satisfied at her remark. She was enjoying making her feel bad, it was what she deserved. Hope's satisfaction depleted at Landon's worried looks.

"Great. It's strong enough to be on our plane." Landon shuddered fearfully.

"Okay, well, we need to get you somewhere safe just in case. So you don't get hurt." Hope began, "I'm trying to protect you. Like always."

"I actually don't think it's after me." Landon told, "Like, it actively avoided Noah and me."

"Then what does it want?"

* * *

Josie closed a book. After the book was shut she heard the door open. Josie assumed it was Lizzie as the two girls had been in their dad's office all day trying to find a solution to the problem which was the sandclock.

Josie sighs, "This isn't gonna work, Lizzie. After what happened last night, I'm nervous to do even the smallest spells... I'm worried the magic's gonna backfire."

"It already did." a voice almost identical to hers stated.

Josie turned around to see herself. At least, it looked like her. She wasn't even sure who that was. It just looked at her. But, something felt off. Something was wrong. She just didn't know what. On top of the deep feelings of dread that resided in her, she also felt large amounts of black magic in the room. The room felt as though it was a hub of just darkness.

"Who are you?" Josie questioned nervously.

The other Josie began walking forward, "I'm a manifestation of your darkest emotions. Fear, pain, anguish. I'm all of it."

"Wh-What do you want?" Josie asked.

Josie began to step back in fear, but she didn't get far before she bumped into her father's desk. Upon her bump, the sandclock shook a little bit. The other Josie turned her attention to the sandclock.

"That, actually." the other Josie informed.

Josie stepped back but before she could attack, her counterpart punched her with enough force to knock her out to the floor, cold. The other Josie grabbed the sand clock and exited the office.

* * *

Josie wakes up outside the school to see it on fire. She stands up to examine the school a little more but turns around to see herself again.

"Don't let it break." her double says.

"Josie, wake up. Jo!" Lizzie shouts as she tries waking Josie up.

Josie wakes up, shocked from the dream she had.

"Are you okay?" Lizzie asks.

Hope and Landon walk into Alaric's office

"What happened?" Hope asks.

"Monster." Josie mumbles as she gets up to sit the nearby chair.

"Uh, Emma put up a barrier spell, so Josie 2.0 is stuck in here with us."

"It took the sandclock." Josie says looking over to where the sandclock used to be.

"The sandclock? Why?" Hope questions.

"It doesn't matter. We just need to get it back. We can take this thing out, okay? We are three badass witches and one moderately competent bird." Lizzie

"Except if the sandclock gets damaged, something really bad is gonna happen." Josie says.

"We need to exploit a weakness to take it down fast. Except Landon's research into that was about as useless as his fighting skills." Hope realizes what she said and turns around to face Landon, "Oh, my God, sorry."

"Or maybe my research was fine, but God forbid you use your brain instead of punching every problem." Landon says rudely but then realizes, "Oh, crap. I'm infected."

"Join the club. Maybe the only one that'll have you. Sorry. Monster." Lizzie apologizes to Landon.

"Why am I being infected now? I wasn't before." Landon thinks out loud, "Oh. Okay. I might have a plan."

* * *

Noah sat on his bed doing homework. He decided that due to today's events he was tired of people, so he's staying in his room. He didn't want another insult thrown his way. Noah's bask in solitude was ruined by a knock on his door.

"Come in."

The door opened to reveal Chris standing there, a sincere look on his face.

"Hey, Noah." Chris greeted softly.

"Hey." Noah noded.

"Look, what everyone said today... it was super... rude. And, I want you to know that I wouldn't say anything like that about you. Monster or not."

"Thanks. It's just... with everything going on... you know."

"Yeah. I get it. I think I have something that'll cheer you up."

Noah raised an eyebrow, but before he could say anything he heard a hoard of students cheering.

_'Noah! Noah!'_

Noah stood up, "Chris what's that?"

Chris smiles, "We got everyone to cheer for you."

"Why?"

"Cause, you're the only one who can stop this thing and... it's kinda hard to do that if no one believes in you."

"You did all that... for me?"

Chris nods. Noah felt honored. The day so far had sucked but this made it better. Knowing people were rooting for him, knowing he had people on his side. Noah smiled, determination filling him.

"I need to go get my pendant." Noah stated.

* * *

Every student in the auditorium cheered. No one really knew what or who they were cheering for most of them didn't even know Noah. But, it was an excuse to not be in class so, everyone went along with it. Chris entered the auditorium and descended midway down the stairs, holding up hands to quiet everyone. As soon as the room fell quiet, Chris spoke.

"I know you all are here for Noah but... he's not exactly ready to be here yet."

"Then what are we gonna do?" Josie asked from the crowd.

After Josie's question, the other Josie entered the auditorium from the other side holding the sand clock.

Chris pointed to their enemy, "We're gonna get her!"

Everyone cheered once again, but their cheers were undermined by second Josie's laughter. The cheers died down and the Josie's laughter became the only sound in the room.

"That is priceless. You think you're going to defeat me?" other Josie laughed, "A sidekick?"

Other Josie burst out into a fit of laughter. She was genuinely amused by the situation, the laughter definitely brought Chris down. He looked down, 'Maybe she's right' he thought. Landon, however, he wasn't having it. He was tired of the name calling and the fighting. He was tired of his friends being put down by something that barely even has a physical form.

Other Josie's laughter stopped, "Now, I'm gonna slam this thing and you all are gonna see who Josie really is."

She was referring to the sandclock! Josie knew she couldn't let her other self do that. She couldn't let all the black magic fly back to her. But maybe she deserved it. She did trust Naomi. She brought this on herself. But, before Josie's anxieties could go any deeper Landon stepped out of the crowd.

"I'm not gonna let you!" Landon declared.

With that, Landon ran down the steps and began to fight Shadow Josie. Everyone cheered as they exchanged punches and blows, ducks and kicks, it was epic. It wasn't so epic for Hope who watched the situation cautiously, wanting to help but not wanting to undermine Landon, but also not wanting to see him hurt. It was only a matter of time before,

_Crack!_

Landon fell to the floor with a broken neck.

"Landon!" Hope yelled stepping out of the crowd.

"Hope!" Lizzie pulled Hope back, "Calm down, he'll come back."

Hope calmed herself. It was important to keep her cool, especially in a time like this.

"Yeah, Hope. Calm down." A voice called.

Everyone looked up to see Noah standing at the top of stairs. Everyone began to cheer as Noah started descending down the steps.

"Oh, he's finally here." MG said from somewhere in the crowd.

"Who even is that? Is he who we're cheering for?" Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"That's Noah, Naomi's old boyfriend. And yes. Keep up, dude." Kaleb informed.

As Noah descended, Chris met Noah at the end of the steps.

"Are you sure you got this?" Chris questioned.

"Yeah." Noah grabbed the gold pendant that sat on his chest, "I have magic on my side."

Chris smiled and fell back into the cheering crowd. The crowd restarted their cheer.

_"Noah! Noah!"_

They cheered.

It was empowering. Noah knew he could do it. And this was his chance; he was gonna make everyone realize he's not weak.

"What's this?" The vile Josie asked.

"The key to your defeat." Noah quipped.

Noah grabbed the pendant and began whispering. No one knew exactly what he was saying only that it must've been a spell as they saw black magic ooze into him from the amulet. After Noah finished he opened his eyes; they were blackened at first, but they faded back to their usual dark brown.

Noah lifted his hand, "Any last words?"

"You can't defeat me. I'll come back and be stronger than ever, just you wait." other Josie threatened.

"Eh, good enough." Noah chuckled.

In mere seconds a beam of black magic flew from Noah's hand. It was like a laser made of pitch black liquid as it blasted the other Josie and disintegrated her, bit, by bit. Everyone cheered Noah on in her demise. Soon, enough the second Josie was gone. Everyone cheered but Josie couldn't as she saw the sandclock falling to the ground rapidly. Josie was panicked. The only thing she could do was stare, she didn't know what to do. Luckily, Hope saw Josie's expression and knew what to do. Hope put out a hand and using telekinesis she thrust the sandclock to herself. Josie felt the biggest relief of her life in that moment. Hope handed he sandclock off to Josie and ran to Landon as everyone crowded around Noah and began to cheer.

_"Noah! Noah!"_

They were so loud Noah was afraid Mystic Falls High could hear them. Noah looked at everyone and smiled. He was so grateful to finally feel appreciated. He always wanted this. To be the center of attention. Doesn't everyone though? Doesn't everyone like to feel important? Special? Noah did. This was the perfect moments. But, perfect moments never last as soon a loud,

_Crack!_

Filled the room. Everyone looked at Josie. There was another crack on the sandclock. Josie looked to her sister. They both knew this could only mean bad news.

* * *

Alyssa was walking back to her room. After the days festivities she was suddenly unmotivated to be around everyone. It wasn't because of other Josie, or Coven Day, or the things that were said, she didn't care, she meant most of the things that were said. She didn't wanna be around everyone cause she knew no one would do for her what they did for Noah. She knew for a fact they wouldn't. She was mean. She knew she was mean, she didn't care. She was angry. She always felt like she didn't belong, or that there was better part of her life missing and she couldn't find it. She couldn't find herself. Alyssa was walking by Dr. Saltzman's office when she heard,

"Alyssa was out of line today." by a familiar voice.

It was Emma! What could they be talking about? It was obviously about her, but what was it? Alyssa took a step back and lent an ear to the door frame, making sure to only peak in enough of herself to be able to fall back if seen.

"Everyone was out of line today, Emma." Alaric defended.

"I know that. But how was she before today? Have there been any complaints from Hope about their roommate situation?" Emma interrogated.

Alaric looked down, his expression giving everything away.

"I knew it. Listen, I think I might need to talk to her." Emma said in a calm voice.

"No. Our therapy has never gotten to her before. The only thing that worked was..." Alaric trailed off not wanting to admit what he did.

"Wiping her mind." Emma sighed.

What? Alyssa had her mind wiped? That explained a lot. Alyssa didn't need to be here anymore. She went in the opposite direction from where she was walking. She needed to get ingredients. She had work to do.

* * *

"I still don't like this idea." Alaric expresses doubt.

"None of us like it, but it's the only plan that we have." Josie explains.

Lizzie confidently walks over to stand by her sister.

"And we have to do something before the fishbowl of doom fractures again." she says looking down at her dad sitting on the couch.

Alaric looks to the sandclock that's on the coffee table, "Fine. Go for it, girls."

"Wait, you're letting us do this?" Lizzie asked surprised.

"Well, m-my bomb expert she didn't give me the best advice on explosives, but she did point out that I could be better at letting you girls solve your own problems." Alaric says nervous looking at his daughters.

"I like this mysterious demolition expert. Does she have a name." Lizzie asks raising her eyebrows.

"Are you sure you guys can handle this?" Alaric questions.

"Not alone, but we have help." Josie smiles.

* * *

Some of the witches, Emma Tig, Alyssa Chang, Hope Mikaelson, and the Saltzman twins were all gathered outside the Salvatore School to make a new ascendant because of Josie's dark magic situation.

"Working together. That's what Coven Day is all about. It's only when witches are alone that we're truly in danger." Emma proceeds to hold hands with the other witches, "But together we are strong and can cast spells that none of us would be able to do ourselves."

"I'm sorry about what I said before. You know, the monster..." Hope says to Alyssa.

Alyssa chuckles, "I deserved it. I'm gonna try to turn down the jerk."

Alyssa holds out her hand so Hope can hold it... after some thinking... Hope accepted. Not to far from Hope and Alyssa stood the Saltzman twins.

"I'm sorry for dragging us into this." Josie apologizes to Lizzie.

"I'm sorry I didn't know you needed help. I love you." Lizzie responds.

"I love you, too." Josie responded and the twins made their way over to the hand held circle.

"Now, witches, focus on assembling these pieces into a new ascendant that will lead to a new prison world." Emma announces to the witches.

The witches start to focus on making the new ascendant and the broken ascendant floats to the air, repairing itself then drops to the ground.

"One spell down." Josie states.

"One to go." Lizzie states.

"Well done witches, well done, but it's not over. We must pull together and channel our energy as one to banish he sandclock before it breaks." Emma says to the witches.

Alyssa walks over to grab the new ascendant and turns around to hand it to Josie, "We all got to stick together, right?"

Josie nods and Alyssa walks backs over to the circle as Lizzie walks over to Josie. Josie hands the ascendant to Lizzie, once she did that she pulls the Bennett blood out her pocket to pour it on the ascendant. When she's done, her and Lizzie both touch the sandclock while also touching the ascendant.

The witches all chant,

_"Sangiema Meam Et Nos Mundo Carcerema."_

twice before a flash went off and the sandclock disappeared.

"We did it. It's gone." Josie says as Lizzie pulls her in for a hug.

"Thank you." Emma says to Hope as she walks back to the school.

* * *

Landon was in the gym punching the punching bag, after the day he's had he needed to blow some steam off.

"That jab is really coming along." Hope noticed.

Landon chuckles, "I have a good teacher."

"Earlier, I-I said some things..."

"Uh-huh. We both has a monster brain. We can forget all about that." Landon says punching the bag.

"I can't. Um... As much as it hurts..." Hope sighs, "Um, what I said was true."

Landon stopped punching the punching bag and looked to Hope, "Look, um... I love you, Landon. I love that you can't take a punch. I love that you won today using brain, not brawn, and I love that you're always trying to be better. But, um, I don't want you to be the hero. Th-The hero's never the one that's left standing." Hope looks down then back to Landon, "I'm not gonna train you to fight with me anymore. Not if there's more attacks." she finishes.

"Well, I'm not stopping. If you won't train me, I'll find someone who will, so that we're both standing at the end of this."

* * *

Alaric pulled out his phone and dialed up his 'bomb expert' and thank her for what she's done.

"Hey, yeah, I... I just wanted to thank you for your advice earlier." Alaric thanked.

"You finished your novel?" Mac asked.

Alaric chuckles, "No. I let m daughters take care of the situation, and, shockingly, the world didn't end. So... I owe you one. Hey what do you say-- I help you move this weekend?"

Mac chuckles, "My answer's in your pocket."

Alaric looks at his phone and hangs up. He reaches in his pocket to see a note that Mac left him, 'You're da bomb.' he read smiling. He saw that there was a lamp still on so he walked over to turn it off but he didn't get the chance because he vanished in thin air.

* * *

Josie walked into the room where Lizzie lay on her bed obviously sulking.

"Shouldn't you be celebrating? Your plan worked." Josie asked a sulking Lizzie.

"Yeah, but with the drama over, I don't have anything to distract myself anymore." Lizzie says laying on her bed.

"Distract you from what?" Josie asks.

Lizzie looks down and her expression said it all. She missed Sebastian, she's been missing Sebastian and now she has to face that.

Josie walks over to Lizzie and lays beside her in the bed, "It's okay to miss him."

"I know I shouldn't care. Sebastian wasn't a great guy, but still..." Lizzie was cut off by a footsteps approaching the door.

"Um, got room for one more in the cry pile?" Hope asks and the twins make room for her. Once she's on the bed she sighs, "I think Landon might hate me."

Before one of the twins could say anything they vanished in thin air.

* * *

**2 YEARS AGO**

"You look very happy, Alyssa, and I hear you're making friends." Emma tells Alyssa as they walk through. the hallways of the old Salvatore School.

"Zoe told me that I'm her best friend." Alyssa boasted.

"Is she your best friend?"

"Either her, or maybe Clara."

"Well, that's a good problem to have. I'm so proud of the progress you've made, which is why I think we can stop having our weekly sessions."

"Really? I'm better?"

"I think so. What do you think?

Alyssa smiles and leaves.

"Okay." 

* * *

**PRESENT TIME**

Dorian walked into where Emma was at, she was sitting at her desk. He wanted to apologize about what had happened earlier because he knew he wrong to come at her like how he did.

"Hey. I wanted to apologize for earlier." Dorian said getting Emma's attention.

"Let's chalk it up to the Josie 2.0." Emma reassured.

"No, before that. It's none of my business why you're in town."

"I appreciate that." Emma get up from her desk, walking over to Dorian, "But today made me realize that..." she comes to a halt, "I should be more honest with you. I'm not in town for Coven Day or for Amelia. Ric asked me to help him with a student. Someone who was giving him... trouble."

"What did you do, Emma?"

"What we did before."

"Bad time?" Alyssa asks interrupting their conversation.

"No, I-I was just leaving." Dorian says looking to Alyssa, "We'll discuss this later." he says now looking at Emma then leaving.

"I know I ordered you here earlier, but it's clear Josie 2.0 was influencing you, well, all of us." Emma says as she sits down.

"That's not what I wanted to chat about. I wanted to confess something." Alyssa began.

"What did you do?"

"It's not about what I did. It's what I know about what you did. Earlier today I overheard you and Dr. Saltzman talking about what you did to me and what he did to those other kids."

"This must be very confusing for you, but I can explain. Let me go and get Dr. Saltzman." Emma begins to leave.

"That won't be possible." Alyssa says stopping Emma from leaving.

"What did you do, Alyssa?"

"I sent them away... just like you sent the others. I thought it was poetic justice."

"That's not possible. You'd need the ascendant and Bennett blood."

"Or I would just need to use a linking spell. I've been waiting for an opportunity for weeks. Watching the Saltzmans as they complained about their lives, worried only about themselves. And then, when everyone else was basking in Coven Day bliss, I linked the two ascendants. When the girls sent the sandclock, they were also sending themselves and Dr. S." Alyssa walks over to sit at teachers desk, "I added a time delay spell so no one would realize what happened until it was too late. You can Amelia for that one."

Emma jumped to her feet, "Get up. We're bringing them back."

"How? The meteor shower's over."

Emma looks out the window.

_"Dedisco."_

Alyssa chants causing Emma to fall. She gets up walking over to Emma who's now unconscious, "You won't remember any of this. That feels poetic, too." she says then leaves.

A while later, Alyssa is now entering her room to see Hope holding the new ascendant and before Alyssa can say anything Hope thrusts her into a wall with a flick of her hand.

"I think we need to have that chat about boundaries." Hope walks over to Alyssa, "What the hell did you do?"

* * *

In a flash of light Alaric appears in the prison world in the exact position he was in when he left the real world. Alaric looks around to see the Salvatore house but different, older, familiar. That's when it clicked: they were in the originals Salvatore house therefore the original prison world. Before Alaric could take in the situation he heard thuds and footsteps. Alaric grabbed a chair and broke the leg off to use as a weapon just in case. The sounds got close and closer until.

"Dad?"

It was Lizzie and Josie. False alarm.

"Where are we?" Lizzie asks.

"We're in a prison world." Alaric answers.

"I thought you said the worlds would be identical?" Josie questioned her dad.

"It's not the one you made today. It's the one you made when you were kids."

"Why are we here?"

"I'm guessing Alyssa Chang wants to teach me a lesson."

"For what?" Lizzie asks with a hint of anger in her voice.

"The miseducation of young minds." Sebastian says looking at Lizzie.

"Sebastian?" Lizzie says shocked.

"Hello, Elizabeth. Fancy meeting you here."

Lizzie looks to her dad who just stares at her blankly. At least now she knew he wasn't ghosting her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked when Hope beat up Alyssa at the end. Feel free to comment what you liked about the chapter.
> 
> The next chapter will be out Thursday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	11. What's Wrong With You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

**Valentine's Day** , a day full of love. At least it is for everyone else. But for Naomi who sat in her cell it was just another day. In another long line of days as she rotted away in the dark, cold, cellar. Naomi craved blood, her one-drop-a-day situation wasn't doing anything for her. She was ready to get out. She was tired of this. With her quickly fading vampire hearing, she heard footsteps approaching. Naomi looked up to see a brown girl standing behind the bars. It was Jasmine looking down on her condescending with her arms crossed.

  
"Hey, Naomi." Jasmine greeted.

Naomi groaned, "What do you want?"

"How's uh... how's your cell?"

"I don't know, drop that spell and come find out."

Jasmine chuckled, "Very funny. No."

"Then why are you here?"

"I was just, you know, checking on you. Also, I was wondering if you had my bracelet."

Naomi let out a dry chuckle, "You're still on that?"

"It was the last thing I got from my brother before he went off to college. So yes."

"Well, look, I don't have it. You're so soft, holding onto things like a bracelet from your brother. At least your brother is still alive. But, if you keep annoying me that can change."

Jasmine furrowed her brows and flared her nostrils. She couldn't believe Naomi would say something like that, her brother was her best friend. Him leaving hurt her, she loved him. And for Naomi to say this? That hurt. Jasmine scoffed and walked out of the cellars.

Soon, Jasmine saw Hope walking through the halls swiftly. Hope obviously had somewhere to be and Jasmine didn't want to bother her but as the person who's keeping the barrier up to Naomi's cell she was obligated to talk to Hope about the situation. Jasmine cruised up to Hope, forcing herself to keep her cool.

"Hey, Hope." Jasmine started.

"Hey." Hope said quickly.

"So, I have news about Naomi-" Hope stopped in her tracks and turned to Jasmine. Jasmine did the same. She wasn't expecting this.

"Listen, Jasmine. We're friends, right? Right. So, you know when I say this I'm being as friendly as I can but, Naomi is the last thing I want to hear about right now." Hope said trying to sound as nice as she can.

Jasmine looked down, "Oh, right."

"Good. I'll catch up with you later."

Hope walked off. Jasmine stood there, frozen. Her day was already being ruined and it was barely even 8 am. Jasmine was angry. She was tired of being dismissed. After some more thinking, she smirked when she realized one important thing: it was Valentine's Day. Every year she picked two holidays to prank the school and this year was no acceptation. Jasmine had work to do.

* * *

It was a cold morning at the Salvatore School. The sun hid behind a thin layer of gray clouds as students prepared for the day. Outside the school, Chris wrapped himself in a coat as he watched Landon jump up and down on a mini-trampoline.

"Fly, fly. Fly. Fly." Landon repeated.

"Try flapping your arms." Chris suggested.

"Superman doesn't flap his arms."

"Superman isn't a teenager jumping on a trampoline trying to fly."

Landon stopped jumping, "Don't be smug."

Chris chuckled, "I'm kidding. But, seriously. Why is this so important to you? So what if you can't fly? None of us fly. Not even the witches. Contrary to popular belief."

"Look, I... I believed in your friend. Can you be the one person here who believes in me?"

Chris deeply sighed, "Fine."

"Hey, do you know how to get a key to the roof?"

"No. Why?"

"I think if I have more height I'll be able to fly."

"What? Landon, your not jumping off of the roof. Hope will kill you. Then me for letting you."

Landon raised his eyebrows and shrugged. Landon's movements were met with a face palm and a sigh from Chris.

"Whatever, man. Look, I need to make sure all my snacks are in order for this trip me and Myles are going on. I'll catch you later." Chris informed.

Landon got off the trampoline, "You and Myles? Where are you guys going?"

"Well, since Naomi's gone Xavier can finally come back so..."

"Oh, right. Okay well, be safe."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

Chris walked off and as he left he was met with a pat on the back from Landon.

* * *

"Enough with the illusion spells, Alyssa. Tell me where the ascendant is." Hope commanded.

Hope was standing outside of Alyssa's cell. Hope was attempting to get information on the Saltzman's whereabouts out of Alyssa but so far she's gotten nothing. Hope looked at Alyssa who sat cross-legged with her back facing Hope. She said nothing. It was as if she hadn't even heard Hope's question.

"Why isn't my truth spell working?" Hope asked herself quietly.

"Hmm, I guess that anti-charm potion I took is working." Alyssa smiled proudly.

"Too bad-- you could use a little charm."

Alyssa stood up and moved into a backbend.

"Enough with the games, Alyssa. Help me bring the Saltzman's back." Hope demanded.

"Why, so you can be the hero and save the day?" Alyssa stood up Normally, "This isn't about you, Hope." Alyssa continued doing her yoga, "Though, if I knew how annoying you'd be, I would've sent you away too."

"How's this? You tell where the real ascendant is, and I won't pluck your eyelash extensions out one by one."

"Sorry but, I don't negotiate with basic witches. So, I'm never telling you where the ascendant is. Namaste."

Hope rolled her eyes and turned around. She was irritated. Alyssa was wasting her time. Part of her wanted to torture Alyssa until she got the answers she needed but, she knew the more diplomatic way was the way to go. As Hope looked around the dungeon in anger she began to realize there were no groans in pain, no cries of hunger, nothing. Naomi wasn't there! Hope turned back to Alyssa.

"Where is Naomi?"

* * *

Kaleb is taking his daily jog in the woods, it was really needed now because of the recent events hat kept happening at the school. His run is interrupted when MG speeds up next to him.

"I really don't get why you run when we can vamp." MG wondered.

"The fresh air helps me clear my head and be alone with my thoughts. Or not." Kaleb replied.

"I wanted to talk to you about Kym."

Kaleb stops running, pauses his music, and turns to face MG,.

"She's, uh... uh, doing great as the library intern. Everyone loves her." MG says nervously.

"Everyone?"

"Yeah. And you already know how I feel about her, so I hope it won't come off as too much of a surprise if I tell you I want to ask her out."

Kaleb sighs, "No, I'm not surprised. Disappointed but... not surprised."

"Come on, man, don't be like that. I really like her. And I'm serious giving this a shot. You know me. I'll do right by her. So... I was hoping you could give me some advice on putting together the flyest first date ever with everything that she loves."

Kaleb gives MG a blank stare.

"So... what-what does she love?" MG asked innocently.

"You know what, MG. Who am I to stand in your way? Uh... Kym loves pool parties, chocolate-covered strawberries, and, uh, frosè."

"Thanks, man. I owe you one."

"Yeah, then let that favor be you running in the opposite direction. Fitness time is me time."

MG smiles then speeds away.

From behind a tree Naomi watched Kaleb continue his jog. As she watched him she couldn't help but think about all the ways she could kill him. Stake to the heart. Decapitation. Mutilation. Anything.

"Phoenix powers, activate!" a voice yelled from behind.

Naomi turned around to see Landon. Landon ran to her and lunged in her direction. Naomi super-sped backward and watched as Landon fell to the ground on his stomach.

"You really are a mistake." Naomi jabbed.

Landon looked up to see Naomi grab a branch and break it over her knee. Landon quickly jumped to his feet in alert as Naomi raised her hand to throw the now shorter stick at him.

"Too bad this won't actually kill you." Naomi smirked before launching the stick at Landon.

Naomi assumed the stick would impair or kill Landon, but in the blink of an eye Naomi saw Hope holding the stick and pursing her lips at Naomi.

"What is this?" Hope questioned.

Naomi laughed, "Really?"

* * *

Hope and Landon stood before Naomi in the gym. Hope couldn't believe this was happening. Who would be dumb enough to let Naomi out? That was the question on her mind. But, it wasn't the only thing on her mind. On top of this news there was also the Saltzmans. She was their only hope-no pun intended-and she had to save them.

"Who let you out?!" Hope stomped.

"I'm not telling you of all people." Naomi chuckled.

"Fine. You're only staying in here because it's easier then moving you to your cell. And since you don't wanna talk to me, maybe you'll talk to Landon."

"Wait, what?" Landon asked.

Hope turned to Landon, "It'll be fine, Landon. I have a barrier, she won't be getting out."

"Fine."

"Okay, good."

Hope looked to the entrance of the gym to see Jasmine passing by the gym, Hope knew Jasmine would be useful right now so she approached her.

"Hey, Jasmine. I know you like potions and things like that so I was wondering if you could help me." Hope started.

"What do you need?" Jasmine questioned, slightly enjoying being in power right now.

"I need a potion that lowers someone's defenses."

"You're in luck! For this year's prank I'm giving out love brownies."

"Great! Do you have something that can melt the coldest, bitchiest heart?"

Jasmine smirked, "I think I can whip up something like that."

* * *

While everything happened at the Salvatore School, Chris and Myles were off to Philadelphia in Myles' car. Myles looked at the road ahead as he drove. It was peaceful. Just an open road and some trees. Myles looked to Chris who was also eyeing the road and eating his snacks.

"It's nice, isn't it? Being on the road." Myles spoke.

"Yeah, I guess." Chris said shortly.

Myles was slightly annoyed but also confused. Why would Chris bring him here just to ignore him? The whole trip has been three word responses or just no responses at all. Was Myles nothing more than a fling? He thought he was more, no, he knew he was more. Chris liked him. He knew it.

"I don't get it." Myles started.

"What?" Chris asked.

"Why would you bring me here if you didn't wanna talk about what we are?"

"I brought you because you can drive and I can't. Not since... the incident."

"Your other friends can drive."

Chris looked at Myles. He saw the slight smirk on Myles' face. Myles was right. Chris brought specifically Myles for a reason, but it was something that Chris didn't want to face so he just turned up the music and sat back in his seat.

* * *

As the keys to Alyssa's cell jingled and Hope entered, Alyssa went from her downward dog position to a stand facing Hope.

"Don't tell me you've had a change of heart." Alyssa snickered.

"Actually, I did." Hope held up a brownie that sat on a napkin in her hand, "Want a brownie?"

"I would love one." Alyssa smiled.

Alyssa took the brownie from Hope and dug into it. After two bites Alyssa felt different. She was happier, it was as if she were floating like a butterfly. Hope knew Jasmine's spell was working when she saw a smile creep onto Alyssa's face and heard a small giggle come from her throat.

"Can I tell you a secret?" Alyssa asked lightly.

Hope nodded in response.

"I have a crush." Alyssa blushed as she spoke.

"On who?" Hope raised an eyebrow in satisfaction.

* * *

MG waits outside the girls bathroom for Kym.

MG knocks on the door, "Hey, I'm sure you look great, no need to stress. I have an amazing pool day planned for us."

Kym opens the door, "I'm not stressing about my outfit." she fully steps out the bathroom, "I know I look good. It's just I have this thing with pools. Kaleb pushed me in the deep end at the neighborhood pool when I was, like, ten. The lifeguard saved me, but I've had a phobia ever since. So I've been sitting in here, trying to gather my nerves."

MG deeply sighs, "How do you feel about chocolate-covered strawberries?"

"I'm allergic to both. Why?"

"And frose?"

"I guess there's a first time for everything."

MG sighed as he realized what Kaleb did but before anything else could be said, they were interrupted.

"Kym. Hi." Hope says from a distance, "Is-is it okay if I talk to MG? It's kind of important."

"Yeah. Uh, rain check, MG?" Kym says grabbing MG's hand.

"Um, okay."MG says as Kym leaves, "What the hell was that, Hope? I had a whole date set up." MG asked irritated.

"Date? That's perfect. Okay, I need your help."

"With what?"

* * *

MG sits on the floaty in the pool regretting the decision to help Hope because he much rather be with Kym, enjoying his time.

"I'll show you how to ride." Alyssa says smiling to MG.

"I-I'm so sorry, uh, but it's only safe for one person at a time, but you look thirsty, uh, for frose, I mean." MG says pointing to the drink.

Alyssa looks over at the frose then back to MG, "I would love a glass, thank you."

"Yeah, no, go help yourself."

Alyssa walks over to the frose's as MG turns around in his floaty to talk to Hope in his magical earpiece, "Hope, Alyssa Chang is horny as hell, and I don't like it."

"Stop messing with your ear, I'm getting feedback." Hope informs while going through Alyssa's belongings.

"I can't help it. This enchantment itches like crazy."

"The faster that you can seduce Alyssa into telling you where the ascendant is, the faster that you can get out of there. That's why I'm here to help." While Hope is still going through Alyssa's belongings she comes across a bunch of pictures of french bulldogs, "Looks like she's really into french bulldogs-- now talk about that."

"How am I supposed to just talk bring that up, Hope?"

"These strawberries are to die for. Delicious." Alyssa tells MG while eating the strawberry.

MG turns around to face Alyssa, "Almost as delicious as french bulldogs."

"Not like that." Hope says in MG's earpiece.

MG turns around to tell Hope, "Okay, you know what, maybe I'm good without the backup. You're messing up my game." in his earpiece then crushes it.

"No, as long as you don't mess up the game of saving the Saltzmans' lives. Hello? MG?"

MG turns around so he can resume is date with Alyssa with no distractions.

"What'd you say?" Alyssa asked MG while standing next to the frose and strawberries still.

"Um, how about we play a game?" MG asked.

"Like Marco Polo?"

"I was thinking something more like if I had a special object that I needed to hide somewhere, where should I put it?"

"Hmm... that's lame. But why don't I show you how long I can hold my breath for?" Alyssa responded now standing in front of MG in the pool.

"Well, that's weird. I don't think we should..." MG is cut off by Alyssa pulling him into kiss.

Kaleb is jogging past the pool when he sees Alyssa and MG kissing, he stops and scowls before continuing his jog.

* * *

Landon sat on the stairs next to the entrance of the gym. Landon was deep in thought about Hope, and Naomi, and all the problems the school was facing right now; but, mostly Hope. Naomi noticed Landon's thinking, she didn't particularly care about what he was thinking about but she needed to buy time so she could devise a plan on how to get out and cause havoc so, she asked.

"What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Landon said shortly.

Naomi laughs, "Whatever."

Landon looks at Naomi, "What do you know?"

"I know you and Hope are going through something. It's written all over your face. Let me guess, it has something to do with the fact that she's an indestructible tribrid and you're a punching bag."

Landon sighs, "Even if you're right, I wouldn't tell you."

"Come on, we're both stuck here." Naomi flips her hair off of her shoulders, "At least make it worth my while."

Landon looked to Naomi who just stared back in response. Landon considered the offer. On one hand he would be able to finally tell someone his feelings about Hope; but, on the other hand Naomi's evil. It was predicament but Landon decided to accept.

"Okay." Landon stood up and walked closer to Naomi, "You're a vamp. Were you ever in love with a human? Or-Or someone weaker than you?"

"I wasn't a vampire for too long before I came to this school, so no. And, I don't like weak links if you know what I mean." Naomi chuckled to herself.

"Well, that's me and Hope. She kind of wears the pants in our relationship."

"Oh. Have you both tried not wearing pants?" Naomi laughs, "It's great."

Landon rolled his eyes and began to walk back to his sitting position. He knew this was a waste of his time.

"Okay, okay, all right, look." Naomi called out.

Landon looked back to the girl.

"I'm listening." she reassured putting on the most sincere smile she could plaster on.

* * *

MG are now standing at the edge of the pool sipping on frose and eating strawberries.

"No one's ever set up such an amazing first date for me before. I can't imagine what you have planned for our second." Alyssa tells MG.

"Is that your foot?" MG asked.

"No."

"Let me get you more frose."

MG goes to get Alyssa more frose. When he's finished pouring it, he turns around to see Alyssa with her top undid but she still is holding it in place so nothing is revealed.

"Oh, my god!" MG yelps.

"Oops. My top came undone." Alyssa mischievously says.

MG speeds to her and ties her top back up, "Alyssa, wait. This is ridiculous. You're under the influence."

"Yeah, of you."

"Listen, I think you got bangin'... uh, uh, self-esteem, and you're super smart and, yeah, sometimes a little scary, but the real reason I did all this was to get you to tell me where the ascendant is."

"You know, I've always admired your honesty, Milton. So if that's what you want, I'll take you to the ascendant."

* * *

After a long and quiet car ride, Chris and Myles shut the car doors and got out to see apartment complex. The two boys walked into the complex and climbed the stairs until they reached the top. The boys walked up to a door. Chris knocked on the door.

"This is the place?" Myles puzzled.

"This is the place." Chris nodded.

"Ooh, four words. Fancy."

Chris rolled his eyes and knocked on the door once more.

"Maybe after we get Xavier we can finally figure out what we are." Myles suggested.

Chris gave Myles a glare before the door opened. Chris and Myles turned their attention to Xavier who stood in the doorway giving them a shocked expression.

"Ch-Chris? Myles? What are you doing here?" Xavier questioned.

Chris and Myles looked at each other, making sure they both acknowledged the awkwardness of the situation then they looked back to Xavier.

Chris cleared his throat, "We're here to bring you back."

As if scripted, a tall man appeared behind Xavier. Chris and Myles both raised an eyebrow at the new face. Who was this man?

* * *

Landon sat next to the entrance of the gym while Naomi laid on her side, holding herself up by her elbow. Landon had been going on about Hope for the past hour and Naomi was growing tired. She swore if she heard the word 'Hope' again, she'd go insane.

"She's just so... incredible, and I'm so me." Landon stated.

"Yeah." Naomi took off the yellow cardigan and looked at the ceiling, "Totally."

Landon continued talking but Naomi drowned him out. At this point, she'd rather look at the boring, plainly painted, unchanging ceiling. While watch the nothingness an idea formed in Naomi's twisted head. An idea that just might save her from Landon's boring commentary.

"I want her to look at me the same way I look at her." Landon finished.

"Okay, well," Naomi stood up, "I'm gonna bounce."

Landon stood up, "What?"

"Like I said, I'm gonna bounce." Naomi looked up then back to Landon, "Does this force field have ceilings?"

Landon's eyes widened as he realized what Naomi was going to do.

"No?" Naomi said as Landon took a step forward, but he could only get a step out before Naomi jumped up high into the air and through the roof of the gym. Landon jumped back to dodge any possible falling debris, then he looked up at the gaping hole and tried to jump up to catch her. He thought if he was in a circumstance like this he'd unlock his flying abilities. Sadly, they didn't and when he found the jumping useless he grabbed Naomi's cardigan and ran out of the gym.

* * *

Landon stands on the stairs in front of Jed, Pedro, and Noah. He had called a super squad meeting because Naomi had left and he needs to get her back.

"Thank you all for coming. I hearby bring this meeting of the super squad to order. Now I know what you're thinking, we're not heroes, and you're right, but I believe that we can join together and equal one relatively capable hero." Landon began his speech.

"Is this supposed to be motivational or...?" Noah asks in confusion.

"Shh." Jed shushes Noah.

"It's time for us to step up. Show our non-believing peers and our mysterious absent authority figures who we really are by charging headfirst into our destiny. And today our destiny is getting Naomi back before Hope finds out that I lost her."

"Yeah. All that, but my destiny is somewhere else. And I got to go find her." Jed announces then leaves.

"Okay. Uh, that's fine, but the rest of us are still on right? Noah? Pedro?" Landon asks.

"Yeah, you believed in me, so I can believe in you." Noah says smiling.

"As long as we're back before snack time." Pedro added.

"Obviously, Um and... Noah?" Landon asks.

Noah raised his eyebrows.

"Can you do a locator spell with her cardigan?"

"Sure."

Before Landon can say anything else Kaleb walks in.

"Oh, my bad, I was, um, I was looking for the super squad meeting." Kaleb said looking around.

"Then look no further. That's us." Noah responds.

"Oh. Oh, damn. Um, okay. Well, ya'll ready to roll?" Kaleb asks.

* * *

"When Naomi kicked me out I knew I couldn't go to my parents. That's why it was so hard for me to leave." Xavier finished.

Everyone sat in the living room in the apartment. Chris and Myles sat on the couch while Xavier sat on a chair in front of the couch. Xavier was explaining why it was so hard for him to leave the Salvatore School.

"So your real parents kicked you out for being a vampire?" Myles asked.

Xavier nodded.

"Wait, so if all your family hates vampires then how'd you know to come to your uncle?" Chris questioned nodding to the man standing behind a nearby chair.

"I'm Dante and uh... I'm a vampire too." Dante sat in the chair he was standing behind, "I still remember the night they found out. They were so... disgusted."

Dante looked up at the roof with sad eyes. It looked like he was reliving the night all over again. Everyone stayed quiet giving Dante the time he needed. The boys all knew this must've been a hard for him. Dante shook his head, snapping back to reality.

"But, that's why when Xavier called I took him in. I know how hard it is not having somewhere to go." Dante stood up and walked into the kitchen, "Anyways, you boys must be hungry. I have bloodbags in the fridge."

"Uh, unc, they're not vampires." Xavier clarified.

"Oh. Well, how do you all feel about pasta tonight?" Dante asked the boys.

"That'd be great." Myles smiled.

"I'm always down for food." Chris leaned towards Xavier and whispered, "And maybe after dinner we can go back to school. Hopefully with you."

Xavier let out an awkward laugh at Chris' suggestion. Xavier wasn't too sure he wanted to go back.

* * *

Kaleb pulled up to the bar in his red car that he got for Christmas. Kaleb bobbed his head as music blasted in the car. He was riding in style. Kaleb and Pedro exited the car and looked around the seemingly vacant bar with his arms crossed. It didn't seem like there was anything happening here. He couldn't see or hear anything that might've been going on so he didn't suspect anything was here. Noah and Landon wheeled up to Kaleb on their scooters.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Kaleb questioned.

"This is where my locator spell said she was." Noah answered.

"She's gotta be here then." Landon said getting off of his scooter and leaning it up against the wall.

Noah did the same as Landon and the boys walked into the bar. When they entered they saw Naomi pressing a guy up against the shelf of drinks and aggressively drinking blood from his neck. The boys looked around the bar and saw the floors, the tables, the chairs, it was all covered in dead bodies. Some decapitated, some heavily mutilated, all of them dead. The boys were disgusted; they couldn't believe Naomi would commit a slaughter like this. Naomi looked back noticing the boys.

"Oh." Naomi drops the now dead body and turns around, "Hey guys." she looks to the little boy, "I see you've brought the little one."

Pedro looks at the bloody girl, the countless dead bodies, and the blood that was splattered everywhere and decides that leaving is the best option, so he runs to get back in Kaleb's car. After, Pedro ran out Naomi wiped her mouth and the boys just stared back at her.

"What? Are you gonna try and stop me or are you just gonna stand there?" Naomi asked.

"Right. Kaleb, go!" Landon commanded.

Kaleb nodded and super-sped to Naomi. When Kaleb approached he tried to throw a punch at Naomi but she grabbed his arm and launched him across the bar. As Naomi laughed, Noah started chanting a spell. He didn't get far before Naomi grabbed a bottle, broke it open, and threw it at Noah's stomach. Landon quickly ran to Noah. As Noah grabbed his stomach and fell to the ground Naomi laughed.

"That's all you got? A vampire that's weaker than me and Noah?" Naomi fell into a fit of laughter and barely sputtered out, "Really?"

As Naomi laughed Landon heard the door open. Landon looked over to see Hope entering the bar with an angry expression on his face.

"Hope..." Landon said not taking his hand off of Noah's stomach.

Hope nodded to Landon and twisted her hand. All of the glass that got stuck inside of Noah floated out on Hope's command.

"When Kaleb wakes up tell him to heal Noah." Hope told Landon.

Landon nodded and Hope walked forward to size-up Naomi.

"Oh god." Naomi groaned.

_"Quid est tamen dare motum!"_

Hope chanted. All the windows in the bar burst open and Hope thrust her arms forward which in turn caused all the glass to thrust into Naomi. Naomi fell back and Hope turned around, Landon ran up to her leaving Kaleb to heal Noah.

"Hope let me explain-"

"Landon, we will talk about this later." Hope cut Landon off, "Take her back to the cellars and lace the bars in vervain."

Hope ordered before walking out. Landon stood there sadly. He failed. Kaleb finished helping Noah and walked over to Naomi. He looked over the bar to see Naomi laying there with glass shards in her lifeless body. The shards quickly began to heal and Naomi's eyes opened. Kaleb's eyes widened, but before he could react Naomi hopped up and snapped his neck. The other boy watched in shock as Naomi jumped out of the now broken window and sped off into the woods. Landon knew this would only end badly.

* * *

Alyssa opens her heart-shaped jewelry box, waves her hand over the box and says,

_"Phesmatos oculacs_ _!"_

to reveal the ascendant. She grabs the ascendant and turns around to face MG.

"Thanks, Alyssa. You're amazing." MG thanks as he holds out his hands waiting for Alyssa to hand him the ascendant.

"It's Lizzie Saltzman, isn't it?" Alyssa says then moves the ascendant so its out of MG's reach.

"Hmm?"

"The other woman that's in the way of you and me." Alyssa complained as she walked toward MG causing him to walk backward.

"Uh, no, I'm over Lizzie."

"But you chased after her for years even when I was here all along."

"Weren't you just with Jed?"

"He's a booty howl. But you, you're the kinda guy a girl could settle down with forever."

"Uh, th-that's just my natural vampire smolder. I'll tone that down."

"Or don't."

"Uh..." MG's says as his legs come in contact with Alyssa's bed making him stumble but is caught by Alyssa, "Uh, I'm into somebody new." MG confessed as Alyssa holds on to shirt.

Alyssa lets go of his shirt, taking a step back from the boy, "Well, that's convenient. Who? Some slutty wolf in Canada? I don't like being lied to."

"No, it's Kym. The intern? And she has nothing to do with the ascendant."

"So, it was never gonna be me?"

"I'm sorry, Alyssa."

Alyssa couldn't believe this... MG liked... a human? And an intern at that? No. Alyssa wouldn't accept this. She will get her revenge.

"But can we be friends?" MG asks pulling her out of her thoughts.

Alyssa is about to hand MG the ascendant but once MG is about to grab the ascendant Alyssa drops it, making it shatter into pieces, and breaking MG's hope of bringing the Saltzmans back.

"No, thanks. I don't have friends." Alyssa says decling his offer of friendship then leaving.

* * *

Naomi walked through the woods after escaping from the bar. Naomi pulled out her phone and called Jasmine.

Jasmine answered, "What do you want?" she asked hastily.

"So, did you let me out so I could get caught by Hope? That's stupid." Naomi said.

"Well, you're supposed to do more than just get caught and run away."

"I don't have much of a voice."

"Fine. I'm over the cauldron right now, I'm making you something that'll help you beat Hope but you have to swing by the school to get it."

"What are you making? Another brownie?"

"No, it's something more... substantial."

Naomi hears a bubble pop, a groan, and a bottle being tipped over and poured into something. she assumed things were going wrong and to avoid asking Jasmine what happened she said,

"I'm gonna go."

"Okay, remember to come to the potions lab."

"Okay." with that, Naomi hang up.

Naomi cracked her neck and began walking towards the school.

* * *

MG stands above the ascendant looking down at it, still in shock that Alyssa let the ascendant fall from her hands causing it to break into pieces. MG realizes he's spent enough time looking at the broken item and bends down to pick up the broken pieces. As soon as he starts picking up the broken pieces Hope walks in.

"What happened?" Hope asked MG.

MG stands up, "I-I tried to stick to the plan, but once to you were gone..."

"This is why I do everything myself."

"Except it wasn't you making out with her. And it wasn't you manipulating her. But it doesn't matter. Alyssa she went insane. Shes's not just in love with me, it's like she was obsessed."

"That's the brownie Jasmine gave me to use on her. Obsession."

"Like boiling-bunnies, burn your house down obsession? That's not romance, Hope. That's a whole different movie genre."

"I just- I grabbed the strongest one I could find."

"Then I guess we both messed up. I told Alyssa that I'm into Kym."

"Go. I'll take care of this."

MG speeds out of the room leaving Hope with the broken ascendant. As Hope is trying to pick up the broken pieces she see Naomi outside the window and before she can muster a spell Naomi throws an arrow straight into Hope's stomach.

* * *

Kym's looking though books to past time.

"Hey." Kaleb says getting Kym's attention.

"I'll never get used to that." Kym commented on Kaleb's super speed.

"Hey! Pack it up!"

"What's wrong?"

"Clear out! Let's go! Let's get out of here." Kaleb yells to the students that are in the library.

"What's wrong?"

Before Kaleb can answer his sister's question MG speeds in next to the siblings.

"Kym. Sweet, you're okay. I'll explain later, but I got to get you out of here." MG insisted.

"Oh, she's not going anywhere with you. I saw you on that date." Kaleb pointed out.

"The date that you ruined?"

"Ruined? It didn't look so ruined with you vamping your tongue down Alyssa Chang's throat."

"What?" Kym shot looking at MG.

"That is not how it happened. That was a part of an incredibly poor thought out but well intentioned plan." MG tells Kaleb.

"Mm-hmm. Yeah, you see this? This is exactly why I didn't want you two dating."

"We can talk about this later, but right now we got to jet, man. Come on." MG says motioning to leave.

Alyssa walks in to the library holding a axe as soon as all three of them were about to leave. Kaleb and MG look at Alyssa for a second before speeding over to her and as soon as they were close enough Alyssa said,

_"Morabor_ _!"_

causing the boys to go in slow motion so they wouldn't get in her way.

"Sorry. This is between us girls." Alyssa apologizes to the two vampires as she looks directly at Kym.

* * *

Naomi climbed into the room through the window. Hope looked at Naomi walk ominously towards her on the floor.

"I thought they took you to the cellars." Hope winced.

"Well, you should know not to send boys to do a woman's job." Naomi chuckles.

Hope grunts as she takes the arrow out of her stomach.

"You know, I don't know what the arrow will do. All I know is that it'll give you the pain you deserve." Naomi smiled.

The white in Hope's eyes became red and her vision turned cloudy. Hope could hardly see and she felt the worst pain, it was as if she were on fire and going to explode at any second.

"Ooh, that doesn't look to good." Naomi jeered.

Landon ran into the room heroically, "Hey! Hurt me instead."

Naomi rolled her eyes and looked at Landon, "Here's the thing: I can't."

"You can try. And-And you know you want to. Admit it, you like hurting me."

"I mean, it is funny to see your face before you fall out and die."

Naomi looked at him for a second before grabbing an arrow out of the arsenal she had on her back and throwing it at Landon.

"Landon." Hope fretted.

* * *

"Can we talk about this like the mature women we are?" Kym coaxed trying to get Alyssa from hitting her with the axe.

"Okay, let's talk. Do you know how long I've waited for MG to pay attention to me? And then you show up and sweep him off his feet?" Alyssa looks over to MG, "A human? Like, have standards, MG." she then looks at Kym and continues trying to attack her.

"Shoot your shot, then. MG's apparently open for business. We've never been on a date."

"Our date was amazing. Until he said that he doesn't want me. He wants you." Alyssa trying to hit Kym with the axe but misses, she then tries to hit Kym again but Kym kicks the axe out her hand.

"So, if I can't have him, no one can." Alyssa finishes holding a wooden stake then walks over to MG who's still in slow-mo, "It was fun while it lasted." now face to face with MG. Alyssa raises her the wooden stake so she can kill MG but is stopped when she's hit on the head with a book by Kym. Once Alyssa hits the ground, unconscious it makes the spell she casted on the two vampire boys end.

"Kym, you all right?" Kaleb asks.

Kym rushes over to her brother for a hug.

"Okay, it's okay. You got her."

* * *

Landon falls to the ground, his eyes becoming red and him being overcome with the same feelings of pain Hope currently felt.

"That was stupid. Why ask to be hurt if you're just gonna come back?" Naomi questioned.

"I did it for Hope. Actually, you've never met someone with a heart as full of love as I have for Hope." Landon proclaimed.

"Is that why all you could talk about earlier was how the relationship was failing?"

Landon sat up and propped his back up on the wall, "That stuff doesn't matter. The love that Hope and I have for each other is more than I ever dreamed of finding in my lifetime. More than I even thought was possible. The only problem with our relationship is that I have no idea why she picked a guy like me in the first place."

Landon shakily pulled himself up and stumbled out of the room. Naomi followed, not because she was intrigued, just because she was bored and she wanted Hope to hear one last thing before Naomi ripped her heart out. Landon walked a little ways down the hall, Naomi followed.

"I love Hope Mikaelson with all my heart. I don't want to live without her. So if you're going to kill her, you need to kill me, too." Landon finished.

"Okay." Naomi smiled happily.

Hope crawled out of the room in just enough time to see Naomi reach into Landon's chest and rip out his heart.

"Landon, no!" Hope cried.

Naomi dropped the heart, it the ground just seconds after Landon's body did. Naomi turned around and began walking towards Hope.

"Don't worry. You're next." Naomi threatened.

Naomi started walking towards Hope menacingly. But, before Naomi could go down and make the kill she stopped. Hope was confused. Why would she stop? Didn't she want to kill her? Naomi's chest became red with blood as she fell to the ground. The effects of the arrow wore off and Hope went back to normal. She could now clearly see Naomi's lifeless body laying on the ground.

* * *

Hope paces back in forth in Landon's room as she waits for him to come back to the land of the living as he lays in the tub. A few moments later an explosion happens which signals to Hope that Landon is alive.

Hope makes her way quickly to Landon, "Hey. Hey." she says as she pulls him in for a hug.

"Hope."

"Hi. You're okay. It worked."

"Yeah, your plan to get your heart ripped out in front of me? Yeah, it worked."

"What did you do?" Hope asks as she pulls apart from the hug.

"After you left the bar, Noah linked me and Naomi's life and included a time delay spell to make it seem like she won."

Hope smiles as she pulls Landon into a kiss.

* * *

Kym walks up to MG as he is talking to his friends, she thought since she would be leaving the Salvatore School she should give the boy a proper goodbye.

"Hey." Kym smiles.

"Hey. Oh, I was looking for you earlier. Um, I wanted today I'm really sorry about Alyssa." MG

"It's not your fault. You were just trying to save your friends. But... I almost got sliced in half... by a witch today."

"Welcome to the Salvatore School."

"About that. This school is amazing. And I'm so glad that you and my brother get to have a place like this. But today scared me."

"You're leaving, aren't you?"

"I hate it when my brother's right."

MG chuckles, "Me, too."

The pair pull each other in for a hug.

MG pulls out of the hug, "Whenever I'm in Atlanta, could I... call you?"

"I'll be waiting by the magic mirror." Kym tells MG then pulls MG for a chaste kiss.

* * *

Chris opened the door to Myles' car. Dinner had concluded and Chris and Myles were about ready to leave but before Chris could get in the car he heard the door to the apartment open behind him. Chris closed the car door and turned around to see Xavier standing there looking saddened.

"I hope you had a good time." Xavier smiled sadly.

"I did. Dinner was great." Chris nodded.

"Good..."

The boys became silent. There were so many things to say, but neither boy said anything. Chris decided he won't sit there silent. He won't continue to stay quiet. He had questions. Questions he wanted answers for.

"Why won't you come back?" Chris asked.

"I don't feel safe, Chris. Not there with Naomi." Xavier sighed.

"I thought you were gonna say that. Naomi's locked up, Xavier. You can come back."

Xavier's eyes widened, "What?"

Chris nodded.

"But it'll be hard. I've been gone for months, I don't fit in anymore." Xavier bewailed.

Chris walked towards Xavier, "You do fit in. You're like a brother to me. I'll always be here for you."

Xavier didn't know what to say. Of all things Chris would say he didn't expect this.

"I don't know..." Xavier trailed off.

"Come on, Xavier, the Salvatore School is your home. And, I practically need you to function, you're a key part in my life." Chris revealed.

"Fine."

Chris smiled, "Yes."

Chris and Xavier smiled at each other before grabbing each other's hands and pulling themselves into a one-armed hug. When they released Xavier looked at Chris smiling.

"I'll come back. I just need to let my uncle know." Xavier told.

"Already got that covered." a voice said.

Chris and Xavier turned around to see Dante standing there, suitcases around him.

"I may have already gave him the heads up." Chris smiled cheekily.

Xavier looked back at Chris, beaming. The moment was perfect. This all made Xavier realize he truly did belong at the Salvatore School, and no ex was going to ruin that for him.

* * *

Hope was walking back to the entrance of the Salvatore School. After the events of the day she had to go into the woods and wolf-out. Wolfing-out helped her a lot, she felt a great release of pressure and stress. She finally felt better. As Hope was walking, she saw Jasmine walk up to her teary-eyed.

"I let Naomi out." Jasmine whimpered.

"Wh-What?" Hope raised an eyebrow.

"I let Naomi out and made the arrows."

"You tried to kill me?"

"That-That-That wasn't my intention. They were just supposed to put you to sleep."

"Well it did-you know-try to kill me."

"I must've... must've messed up on the potion."

"Why did you even do it? You know Naomi is dangerous."

"Everyone always pushes me around, Hope. That's why I prank on the holidays and that's why I did what I did. Today was supposed to be a normal day but you and Naomi both dismissed me."

"So you go and do that?"

"What was I supposed to do? I was angry."

Hope sighs and cups her face. Jasmine felt shameful at Hope's sigh. She couldn't believe she'd do something like this; she thought she was better than this. Jasmine wiped a tear that escaped her eye.

"There are better ways of dealing with your anger, Jasmine." Hope spoke softly.

Jasmine moved her hair off of her ears and looked to the ground as she began to cry. Hope moved Jasmine's head up by her chin and wiped her eyes.

"Jasmine... you're so smart. There are better ways of dealing with your anger than that." Hope complimented.

"Never thought about that, I guess." Jasmine forced out a chuckle.

Hope chuckled and pulled Jasmine into a hug.

* * *

Myles and Chris tiredly stumbled into Chris' room. They were exhausted after a long drive and a long day but the conversation they were about to have was a long time coming. Myles came in, closed the door, and Chris sat on his bed, taking off his shoes.

"So, I safely got Xavier back and he's exhausted." Chris chuckled.

Myles chuckles, "I'm exhausted too but... I have a question."

"What is it?"

"All day you wanted me by your side. Driving you to Philadelphia, walking you to your room. But, you won't answer my questions even though you know I'm gonna ask them. Why?"

Chris deeply sighed. He knew this was coming.

"My question is... do you like my or not? 'Cause, I can't do this anymore." Myles told.

Chris looked down. He didn't know what to say all he knew is that he couldn't say nothing. Chris scooted to the right and tapped the space next to him. Myles walked over and sat next to Chris on his bed.

"I do like you, it's just..." Chris shakily inhaled, "being with someone important in my life comes with crazy friends, and even crazier cousins, and dire situations, and I just can't bring someone else into that." Chris explained.

"I can handle it, Chris. I like you. And, I'm ready to deal with crazy friends, and crazy cousins, and dire situations, and anything else that comes with being with you. I'll deal with it all for you." Myles grabbed Chris' hand, "Okay? I'm supernatural too."

Chris smiled, "I guess that answers the question."

The boys smiled at each other before going into a passionate kiss.

* * *

Hope is in the auditorium looking for ways to bring the Saltzmans back but keeps hitting dead end. She is interrupted by Landon.

"Hey." Landon greets.

"Hey." Hope says back.

"Am I interrupting something?"

"Just me, um, trying and failing to find a way to bring the Saltzmans back. Look, I know I've... been reluctant to let you step up. But obviously you can handle yourself."

Landon smiles at Hope.

"Besides, I don't have all the answers either.

"Hey." Landon says softly as he walks over to Hope, "Don't worry. We won't give up until we find a way to get 'em back."

"Did you mean what you said about not knowing why I picked you?"

"Oh, uh... I-I mean... Maybe. Sometimes."

Hope walks over to her bag that sat on the stairs, got her diary out, flipping to a page, then walking over to Landon to hand him the diary with the page she picked out.

"What's this?" Landon asked looking at the page.

"Oh, just... read it. I wrote it when I got back."

Landon begins reading, "He's so patient... and trusting and kind, and a thousand other things I never was. So, if all I ever have is the memory of the way he loved me, then I will survive this." he sets the diary on a nearby table then turning around to pull Hope into a passionate kiss. As they're kissing Hope notices that they're in the air.

"Landon." Hope says.

"Holy smokes!" Landon yelps.

"Don't let me go." Hope whispers to Landon.

* * *

Hope walked into the cellars to see Naomi pacing around her cell. It was as if she was studying it, why would she be studying her prison?

"I guess I'm back in this cell." Naomi said, stopping at taking notice of Hope.

"Yeah, and you're not getting out of here this time. I did the barrier spell and I'm hellbent on keeping you here. So enjoy solitude and one-drop-a-day diets because that's gonna be the rest of your _immortal_ life." Hope smirked. Seeing Naomi like this satisfied her.

"Sure, I'm immortal. But is Landon?"

Hope cocked her head to the side and glared. She didn't know she would have to kill someone today.

"No. He's not. And you can't protect him so when he dies, and he will. I'll take complete satisfaction knowing that you officially lost everyone you've ever loved." Naomi smiled.

Hope felt anger writhe in her, she couldn't take this so she turned around and began to walk out of the cellars. Naomi let out menacing laughs as she began to form freedom plans in her head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked the last scene. It was funny. Feel free to comment your favorite part of the chapter <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	12. PSA

NOT A CHAPTER JUST WATCH SEASON 2, EPISODE 12. 

WHY? BECAUSE WE'RE LITERALLY NOT CHANGING ANYTHING WHY WOULD WE WRITE THE CHAPTER WHEN YOU CAN LITERALLY WATCH THE EPISODE.

ANYWAYS Y'ALL WILL HAVE CHAPTER 13 INSTEAD CAUSE THAT'S NOT FAIR & CHAPTER 14 WILL BE OUT THIS THURSDAY.

ALSO, WE WOULD LOVE FOR Y'ALL TO COMMENT LIKE FR WE REPLY BACK. 

HAVE A NICE DAY & BE SAFE :)


	13. The School Is Falling Apart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Diego and Wendy walk down the stairs of the basement in hopes to find Alaric. Diego inhales trying to find Alaric's scent.

"He's here." Diego says walking deeper into the basement. As he's walking he sees a shirt on the ground but before he bends down to grab the shirt a "Wait" comes from a concerned Wendy but Diego isn't phased because he grabs the shirt but his hand gets caught in a bear trap "Ahhh!" he screams.

Alaric appears around the corner with a sword, "Stay down!" he shouts while pointing the sword at Diego.

Diego doesn't listen to Alaric as he tries to get himself up but is stopped when Alaric stabs him in the stomach, making him fall backward, dying.

"Wendy, I don't want to hurt you." Alaric says now looking at the girl.

Wendy wastes no time and sets the ground on fire in front of Alaric and runs up the stairs.

"Jade, he's in the house!" Wendy yells still running. Before she could get further Alaric shoots wire at her feet making her fall and pass out.

Alaric had been fighting the group for a while now and while it was physically taxing he knew he had to. It was the only way he was protecting his daughters.

Jade speeds in where Alaric is and pushes him across the room where the piano is.

"Tag. You're it." Jade laughs.

Alaric gets up making his way towards Jade, now in front of her he tries stabbing the girl but she catches the sword with her hands.

"Oh, come on. Let's not fight. We don't want to waste any of that blood." Jade starts but is stopped when flashes of her memory begin which makes her humanity turn on.

"I'm so sorry." Jade apologizes to Alaric and falls to the ground.

Behind the fallen vampire stood Josie. Or he thought it was Josie. The creature in front of her had black curly hair, and pale skin. But-and most importantly-the girl before Alaric had black, soulless eyes.

"Josie. What did you do?" Alaric asks.

"I fixed her." Josie answers.

* * *

Hope awoke from a terrible dream to see different pieces of the ascendant laying in front of her on a red desk. 'I must've fallen asleep.' she thought. Yes, Hope had fallen asleep while working, but it was inevitable. Hope had been working all night nonstop, she needed a bit of rest. But, of course, Hope wouldn't admit that. Nope, there was too much work to be done. Hope picked up a severed piece of the ascendant to look at it before slamming it down in anger and burying her hands in her face.

Soon, Hope walked into Landon's room to see him connect rubber bands to paper on a board as if he were solving a case.

"Oh, what's all this?" Hope asked.

"I couldn't sleep." Landon walked to Hope, "And I was just up all night trying to figure out how I was able to fly." Landon grabbed Hope's hand and pulled her to the board, "Or, you know, float."

"Oh, my God. Tell me you didn't."

Hope pulled Landon's hand from behind his back to see his wrist wrapped in a brace.

"Oh, it's just from the top of the garage." Landon rationed, "I had to see if I could make myself do it again."

As Hope looked at Landon's brace, her mind went to all the darkest places it could. She thought about what would happen if Landon got hurt, about the heartbreak she'd feel if something bad happened to him. Just the fact that Hope didn't know this even happened was enough to send her into a mental frenzy of feeling as if she can't protect Landon.

"Cause the current working theory is the spike of adrenaline when we kissed caused something to happen, but so far, um..." Landon trailed off when he saw Hope's saddened expression, "Hey. What's wrong?"

"I had a dream last night that you were hurt and I-I couldn't save you."

"Hope..." Landon says walking over to the bed.   
****

* * *

Xavier sat on the bleachers watching the vampires and wolves face off in wickery. He had sunglasses on his face, not because it was sunny, he wore the glasses because he was hungover. He didn't know he could be hungover but the night before he must've drunk a lot because he could barely think with the headache he had. Before he could even realize it, he saw Chris slide next to him on the bleachers.

"Hey, Xavier." Chris greeted.

"Ah, not so loud." Xavier warned.

Chris lowered his voice to a whisper, "Sorry."

Xavier sighs, "It's fine."

"So, I guess you're feeling the effects of your eventful night."

"What do you mean- oh. Did I drink that much at the party?"

"It was like watching someone who was walking in the desert living on one drop of water a day find an ocean."

"So I was that bad."

Chris nods then let out a laugh, "It's fine, we've all been there. Just make sure Dr. Saltzman doesn't catch you."

"I'll make sure of that."

Chris and Xavier broke into a small laugh that was cut short by Chris noticing an altercation on the field.

"What's going on over there?" Chris asked aloud.

"I don't know." Xavier shook his head.

The boys jumped off of the bleachers and clambered onto the field to see Kaleb and Jed trying to get at each other, while Rafael held them from each other, and a crowd watched.

"What happened?" Chris questions.

"This Lionel Richie knock-off can't shut his mouth on the field!" Jed barked.

"Yeah, well Scar over here doesn't know how to keep his hands to himself." Kaleb accused.

"Jed pushed MG so Kaleb started trash-talking. One thing led to another and now we're here." Rafael told.

The boys continued to argue and bicker while trying to get past Rafael's arms. Rafael went back and forth with each push and pull, the motion began to annoy him. This whole situation began to annoy him. He just wanted to have a nice day but the wolves can't go through one day without drama. He wished he could go see his dad again. Rafael pushed Jed back and got in front of Kaleb's way, facing Jed and acting as a wall between them.

"Back off, Jed." Rafael ordered.

"Why should I listen to you?" Jed inquired.

"Because I'm your alpha."

"Some alpha you are. You're constantly leaving, I've been alpha more of the time than you have."

Rafael looks into Jed's eyes threateningly and Jed sighs. He may be stubborn but he knows when to back off. The wolves hang their heads and begin walking to the sidelines for water. As the wolves walk away Kaleb takes a step forward, presumably to take a shot at Jed. Luckily, Xavier put a hand in front of Kaleb before he can do the action.

"Kaleb." Xavier stopped.

Chris watches as Kaleb scoffs and walks away with the other vampires. What has gotten into people today?

* * *

Josie and Alaric are walking down the street trying to track down Lizzie because of her sudden disappearance.

"What exactly did you do to Jade?" Alaric asked.

"Lizzie's this way I can feel her." Josie ignores her dad.

"Why did you break the Sandclock?"

Josie stops walking, "I can't remember." she says looking at her dad.

"Well, are you okay? I mean, are you in pain?"

"No. For the first time in my life, everything feels... clear." Josie's eyes turn black and point in the direction of Lizzie, "There."

"Lizzie!" Alaric says running to Lizzie. When he reaches Lizzie he tries to help her get out of the car but he sees blood all over her and as he keeps looking at his injured daughter he sees a metal shard in her stomach.

"Something's wrong." Lizzie states pulling Alaric out of his gaze, "It feels like my mind is breaking." she finishes as her eyes turn black then back to normal again.

"It's okay." Alaric says now picking up Lizzie to get her out of the car, "Dad, I drank vampire blood. Please don't let me die" Lizzie cries out.

"You're not gonna die." Alaric assures.

* * *

Dorian hears a knock at the entrance of the Salvatore school and goes to open it.

"Can I help you?" Dorian asks the man.

"Hello. My name's Joshua. Alaric said I could drop by and stay for a few days whenever I'm in town, so... here I am." Kai lied.

"How-how do you know Dr. Saltzman?"

"Oh, Ric and I go way back. I was at his wedding. Brought quite the gift."

"I'm sorry. He's not here. I'll let him know that you stopped by, though."

"Oh... No, there's no point. He wouldn't remember me. But I hear it's been a little hectic at the school lately, and you might not have taken your vervain as usual." Kai states.

Dorian looks at him confused and before he can say anything Kai says, "Why don't you go find someone who would be able to invite me in." he compels.

* * *

Alaric speed walks into a hospital room laying Lizzie down on a bed after laying her down he goes to grab some tissue and places it on her wound, "You're gonna be okay, Lizzie. It's alright, it's alright." he says trying to comfort his daughter.

"The black magic is making her worse. She won't make it with it inside her." Josie announced.

"Well, Josie, can you do something? "Josie. Please." Alaric begs.

"I'll be unconscious for a little while." Josie's eyes turn black, "Don't be scared." she grabs her sister's arm siphoning from her. When she's got the black magic out of her she collapses and as soon as Josie collapses Jade comes in.

"I can help." Jade says but when she sees the blood from Lizzie her eyes turn red and she moves back around the corner, "Dr. Saltzman. It's me. I don't know how, but Josie turned my humanity back on. Look you can still kill me if you want to, alright? I know that I deserve it. But I was training as an EMT when I was 16, and I've spent the last ten years learning how to patch people up after a fight, alright? I can help her. But I can't be near the blood. So you're just gonna have to do exactly what I tell you." she finishes.

* * *

Hope sits in Alaric's office thinking of ways to get the Saltzman's back but is interrupted by Landon walking in with a tray of snacks.

"Hey." Landon greets smiling.

"Hey. What's all this?" Hope asks as she watches Landon sit the tray in front of her.

"A flightless co-hero being useful."

Hope laughs.

"Any progress?"

"No. Alyssa spelled it so every time I repair it, it just breaks again."

"And you can't... unspell it?"

"No. There's got to be something I'm overlooking."

"There is." Kai says startling the couple, "Sorry, you have the wrong ascendant."

"Oh? Says who?" Hope asks.

"Fam, meet... Joshua." Dorian introduces.

"Hello." Kai smiles.

"Old friend of Ric's. And drumroll please he's also an expert on prison worlds. I told him about our problem."

"Do you mind if I...?" Kai asks and Hope nods, "Thank you so much." he puts on his glasses, "Wow. Wow, wow, wow. It is in pieces." he says as he picks up the ascendant, "There's a linking spell on this. It produces a faint hum, like a melody, if you know what to listen for." he states bringing the ascendant up to Landon's ear.

"You don't. When the Saltzman's performed their spell on this ascendant, they were being tied to another. Hold this." he passes the ascendant to Landon, "That witch of yours didn't send them to, you know, a new empty prison world. She sent them somewhere, somewhere far older and... much more dangerous. And you're going to need my help to get them out."

* * *

The wickery game concludes with the final touchdown being from the vampires. Chris jumps down from the bleachers thinking he'd just walk back to the school by his lonesome. Chris was surprised to see Myles just a little bit ahead of him. Chris smiled and ran up to the shorter boy, planting a big kiss on his cheek when he finally approached.

"Hi." Chris smiled.

"Hey." Myles greeted.

The boys join hands and begin walking towards the school.

"How was the wickery game?" Myles asked.

"It was a mess. The school is falling apart at the seams and Dr. Saltzman is nowhere to be found. Great." Chris sighed.

"Damn, it was that bad?"

Chris nodded.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there. Mrs. Taylor was keeping me in her classroom cause I was missing homework." Myles apologized.

"It's fine, besides you being there wouldn't have changed much." Chris shrugged.

"I don't know, I look pretty hot in a wickery uniform you would've liked it."

Chris laughed, "Sure."

The boys stopped walking and joined both hands as they went in for a quick kiss. Once their faces separated they looked into each other's eyes.

"I hope we keep this same energy for our date today." Myles beamed.

Chris looked away then back to Myles, "Are you sure we should even be going on a date? I feel like the bad vibes here are gonna rub off on us, or something."

Myles chuckled, "Chris, I promise you it's gonna be great. Besides, I've been on plenty of dates before. There won't be an issue."

Chris knew what Myles said was supposed to calm him, but Chris couldn't bring himself to be calm. That made him feel worse. Was Myles joking? Or was he being serious? It didn't matter. Either way, Chris still wouldn't feel at ease, not with everything going on.

* * *

"It's worse than we thought. The Saltzman's are stuck inside of a prison world with the guy who murdered their mother-- they're all in danger." Hope says looking through Alyssa's belongings.

"Alyssa must have kept the original ascendant hidden. You know she's not just gonna hand it over." Landon states.

"I have to know if the Saltzmans are still alive. And the only way to do it is to astral-project there." Hope says giving up on looking for the ascendant and starts to heads out of her shared dorm with Alyssa.

"Hope... we had a deal. You might get lost and not find your way back." Landon states stopping Hope from leaving.

"In my dream, Josie said to me, "We're not alone."

"Okay." Landon sighs.

"Look, Landon, I have to try. If they've been in danger this whole time and something happens because I couldn't find a way to save them..." Hope was interrupted by a knock coming from the door.

"Hey, sorry to intrude. Got some good news-- so... Joshua's doing some research for us. He said there's a rare flower that grows near the falls. The extract makes people tell you their deepest secrets. If we give that to Alyssa, we can get her to tell us where the ascendant is. Landon, you come with me." Dorian told Hope and Landon while he stood at the door.

"No." Hope frowned, making Landon stop, "He stays here."

Landon faces Hope, "You try to contact them I'll be right back. Okay? If we take risks we take them together."

"I'll keep him safe. I promise." Dorian nods.

* * *

Alaric removes a shard of glass out of blood gushing Lizzie.

"Okay, now you're gonna need to stop the bleeding. There's a Laughlin clamp on the tray. It kinda looks like-" Jade instructs still standing outside the room before getting interrupted.

"Yeah, I know what it looks like. Her mom invented it." Alaric looks at the clamp then proceeds to get the other shard that's in Lizzie out.

"Okay. Vessel's sealed. Her pulse is steady." Jade hears from the monitor.

"Thank you." Alaric said looking at Jade.

Jade smiles at Alaric and before she can say anything Josie pops up from the ground after she had fainted.

"Hello again." Josie smirks.

"What happened to you?" Jade asks.

"She did something dangerous with black magic. And now she can't recall why." Alaric says disappointed that his daughter broke the sand clock.

"I must have had a reason. But it's blank. Something is missing from my memory. Or someone." Josie implies.

"Uh... same." Jade pulls a note out of her pocket, "I don't know what this is, but I found it in my pocket." she says handing the not to Josie.

Josie opens the folded note, reads it, and walks over to her dad to show him what it says, "Who's Kai?"

"The person who's missing from our memory." Josie states, "There's a spell affecting my mind. I've felt it before. Malivore." she finishes.

"You might want to grab a seat, Jade." Alaric tells Jade.

"Why?" Jade questioned.

"Trust me." Alaric says sitting down.

 _"_ _Harare_ _-tamai kioku yomigaerashi-tamae."_ Josie chanted.

* * *

Chris and Myles sat at an outside table at the Mystic Grill. The date had just begun and so far it had been... quiet. No laughter, no stories, just... awkward silence.

"So... this is good so far." Chris lied as he took a sip of his drink.

"Yeah, for a silent date." Myles chuckled, "What's wrong?"

"Uh, nothing. Nothing that I can't forget, anyway."

"Come on, Chris. How are we gonna be together if you're not honest with me?"

Myles was right, the only way this relationship would work is if Chris was honest. But, he was afraid that he'd scare Myles off or hurt him in some way. But, then again, if he said nothing where would he get? Nowhere.

"It's just... I guess I'm a bit freaked out. You know, saying that you went on a lot of dates made me question if that'll be just another date for you." Chris explained.

Myles internalized Chris's words. Myles was trying to be funny not a threat to their relationship. Myles smiled wryly and grabbed Chris' hand.

"This isn't just another date, Chris. I like you. I'm here with you cause I like you. A lot. And, I'm sorry for freaking you out earlier." Myles reassured his boyfriend.

Chris gave Myles a shy smile. Myles knew he'd have to give Chris a little bit more convincing before he would be able to fully calm his nerves. Myles concluded if he wants to be with Chris he has to make sure he's fully comfortable with him, and he knew how he was going to do it.

"Come on." Myles spoke as he stood up.

"What?" Chris pondered.

"You like drives right?"

"Um... yes."

"Then let's take this date on the road. And quick because I do not have money to pay this bill."

Chris chuckled and stood up, "What if I wanted to pay?"

"Well, do you?"

Chris smiled before grabbing Myles's hand and walking off.

* * *

Kai was in the kitchen making a sandwich for himself as he talks to himself about his plan to take down Hope, the tribrid by making her choose between someone she loves so dearly or her friends which is starting to become less and less these days.

* * *

Landon and Dorian are walking down the stairs inside the school they were about to leave to go to the falls.

"This shouldn't take long. Right? I can't believe I've lived in Mystic Falls this long, and I've never actually seen the falls, you know?" Landon says but he notices that Dorian stopped walking so he turned around to see what was up, "Mr. Williams? You okay?"

Dorian's answer to Landon's question was a hard punch to the face knocking the boy out.

* * *

Alyssa was in her cell doing yoga. She often does yoga as it's one of the only things keeping her sane as she's trapped in her cell. She resented being in the cell but she had no way of getting out... or so she thought

"You must be Alyssa." Kai says looking at Alyssa.

Alyssa looks over to Kai.

"Big fan of your work. How do you feel about team-ups?" Kai asked the girl with a mischievous look on his face.

* * *

In the Salvatore School common area, Josie twirls her hand to cast a book into her hands from the bookshelf. ****

Alaric jolts up frombeing sleep and looks around, "Where's Lizzie?"

"Sleeping upstairs." Josie replied standing up and reading a book to help her get out of the situation they are in.

Alaric gets up, "Kai."

"Try to control your emotions. I remember what Kai said. There's still a way for us to get out. This whole place is just another spell. It's made of magic. Magic can be siphoned. I can make holes in this world. Doors."

Jade, Wendy, and Diego approach the father and daughter.

"So, does this mean you can get us back into the real world?"

Alaric and Diego share an intense gaze.

"It's alright. I talked to them." Jade informs.

"We just want to go home." Wendy adds.

"Well, we can't all go. The magic I siphon here can't travel to the real world. The energy needs to go somewhere, which means someone needs to stay behind to be the anchor. It should be Diego. No offense." Josie makes known.

"No. We're not leaving anyone here. We're all getting back."

Josie's turn black, "Shh. Someone's coming."

Hope appears behind Josie, "Josie?"

"Hello." Josie greets.

Hope looks at everyone else.

"Only I can see you."

"What happened to you?"

"I broke the Sandclock."

"Oh, my God, I'm so sorry.

"Honey, who are you talking to?" Alaric asks.

"Hope, she's astral-projecting." Josie answers.

"Listen, you have to warn her about Kai." Alaric tells Josie.

"Why? What happened?" Hope asks.

"Kai went into the Malivore pit, and we think he's trying to get to the real world." Josie answers.

"Actually, I think he's already here, pretending to be someone else." Hope realizes.

"Kai's at the school." Josie tells her dad.

"Oh. Hope? Listen to me, Kai's incredibly dangerous. You have to get him away from school now." Alaric tells instruct Hope.

"Good luck, Hope." Josie says as Hope disappears.

"Wait..." Hope says disappearing.

"We need to do whatever it takes to get out of here." Josie says looking to her dad.

"Fine. We do the spell. And I'll stay behind. You were all my students once. It has to be me." Alaric looks to his old students.

* * *

Hope finally gets back to from astral-projecting as she sits in a circle surrounded by candles.

"How'd all that go?" Kai asks walking into Hope's room.

"It didn't. I couldn't reach them." Hope replied.

"Oh." Kai says looking around the room.

"Did you need something?" Hope asks now standing up.

Kai sniffs, "It's not you. It's not me."

"Excuse me."

"No. Yes, there it is." Kai grabs Alyssa's stuffed animal, "Oh, why is it always stuffed animals? It's the weirdest thing." he says walking to Hope then stopping in front of her to rip the head of the stuffed animal off to reveal the ascendant.

"How did you know?"

"Oh, Alyssa Chang just needed a, uh, a compassionate ear to bend. Hey, I'm sorry too, uh, stick my nose in, but she doesn't like you people. Anyhoo... now all you need is something that has the equivalent power of a celestial event. Do you have any ideas?"

"I do. But we have to go off-campus to get it."

Of course, this was all apart of Hope's plan. She'd bring Kai out of the school and trap him there while we saved the Saltzman's. Hopefully, she'd be able to pull it off, the Saltzman's lives depended on it. But Kai knew what and was doing

"Who doesn't love a field trip?" Kai walks off.

Later on, they finally arrive at the storage shed.

"Huh. That smells old. Wow, wow, wow. This doesn't seem like much of a spot for a powerful magical artifact." Kai says sniffing the smelly place.

"Neither does a stuffed animal." Hope mocks.

Kai chuckles, "That's very good."

"Dr. Saltzman hid what we need in one of these crates, so... Look for the Salvatore logo."

Kai and Hope go there separate ways looking for the magical artifact but what Kai doesn't know is that he is being set up.

"It's a good thing there's not, like, 400 crates in here." Kai says trying to make conversation.

Hope sneakily tries to break some wood off of the crate that's in front of her.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, crate. When you say Salvatore logo, you mean, like that thing with the "S" and the squiggle?" Kai asks looking around.

Hope launches the wooden stake at Kai with his back facing her but stops mid-air by the flick of Kai's wrist. He turns around to face Hope while the stake is still in mid-air, "And so it begins."

Kai sped up to Hope but is stopped when Hope quickly mutters a spell that blasts Kai back.

 _"Icaeus."_ Hope chants lifting a nearby crate to throw it at Kai but he stops it making it drop in front of him.

"Nice try." Kai mocks.

Hope runs towards Kai aiming to hit him with her fist but she misses as he dodges the punch but he didn't move quickly enough because she sweep kicks him from behind making him fall back.

Hope gets up and starts walking to the fallen Kai, "You could have blocked that."

"Yeah, you're right. I just wanted you to think you were doing a good job." Kai laughs.

"You're not trying to beat me."

"Oh, no. No, not for a... a few more minutes." Kai says sitting up, "Because right now, Alyssa Chang is performing a spell that will sever my connection to the prison world. And since that was the place was created for me, once she's done..."

"The world will disappear. Along with everyone inside of it... Oops."

Hope launches Kai to a pole wrapping him up with metal chains, "Thanks so much for the villain monologue. I'll deal with you later." she starts walking off.

"Hey, before you go rushing off, there's something you should know."

Hope begins to walk back to listen to what Kai has to say.

"I compelled what's-his-name. Who's with, uh, you know, your boyfriend, curly-hair? Lando. There it is. That's thanks to you. As we sit here chatting, they're headed east, away from the school, into the woods, walking straight into Dorian's suicide."

"Your lying."

"You know, for once, I'm not."

This is exactly how the plan didn't support to go.

"Oh, you can stop doing the math in your head. You'll never make it to both places in time. You can't save them all. So, you, uh... you have a little choice to make. Who's it gonna be?" Kai cynically smiles.

* * *

In the prison world, Josie is trying to get her people back to the real world but she needs all the help she can get as the spell is a tough one but maybe not considering the mind-state she's in.

"We need to work together. Place the spires in a circle to create a boundary spell. As I begin to siphon, doors will open beneath them. Each door can only transport one person. Once I begin the spell, I cannot stop until it is done. So, when you see the door, you have to go." Josie instructs her father, Lizzie, Jade, Wendy, and Diego.

Each of them goes stick the spires into the ground and once there done Josie sits with both knees under her as she slits her hand with the knife pouring her blood on the spell and then beginning the spell.

"Dad, don't do this. We'll find another way." Lizzie reasons with her dad.

"Lizzie, there's no time. Kai got out. He's at the school. Hope's trying to stop him, but if she can't you and Josie have to. You got to go now. But, Dad. Sebastian is still here. He'll come after you."

"I'll be fine. Besides, you'll find a way to get me back in no time." Alaric says as the spires light up signaling they can go back into the real world now.

"I'm so sorry. I never should have..."

"It's okay. I love you." Alaric pulls his daughter into a hug.

Diego growls wanting to end Alaric once in for all for keeping him, Wendy, and Jade in the prison world for years.

Not too far from them lies Sebastian, the blood from the car crash rolls down his face and into his mouth causing him to wake up.

* * *

Dorian and Landon stood in a secluded spot in the woods. Dorian held his arms around Landon's neck, holding him in a headlock and slowly killing him. As Landon suffocates, he hits Dorian's arms repeatedly. Landon didn't know why Dorian was doing this but he knew he had to escape. Of course, Landon wouldn't die but that's not what he was worried about; it was what was going to happen after he died that he worried about.

"Mr. Williams!" Landon croaked, "Mr. Williams, why are you doing this?"

"I have to kill you, then myself." Dorian answered in a robot-like voice.

* * *

Hope is still running toward the school as she runs to a clearing in the woods she stops and replays what Kai said, _"You'll never make it to both places in time. You can't save them all. Who's it gonna be?"_

* * *

Hope runs into the auditorium of the Salvatore School to find Alyssa muttering a spell as she lifts a knife off almost finishing the spell.

"Don't!" Hope yells as she runs into an invisible barrier.

"You really are a basic witch." Alyssa says in disgust.

"Alyssa, please."

"I don't want them back. Not now, not ever."

"If you finish that spell, you'll kill them all."

"He didn't say anything about that."

"Well, think about it. If you sever the connection, the prison world collapses. Everyone in it will die."

"Look, I know you're angry, and I know that you want to hurt them. But you're not a murder. Trust me, you don't want to be responsible for someone's death. It stays with you. You carry it forever."

"I know." Alyssa says as the ascendant starts making noise, "That isn't me." she informs standing up.

* * *

He was compelled! But who could've compelled him? That didn't matter right now, what mattered was getting loose from this and trying to help Dorian. Landon hit Dorian's arms once more, but it wasn't enough. The life began to fade from Landon as he accepted his fate... seconds later, Landon opened his eyes and felt his blood begin to circulate again. Landon's vision was blurry at first, but when his vision did clear he saw... Ethan.

"Ethan?!" Landon went bug-eyed.

I know, that's what I said. Before Ethan could respond, however, they heard a sploshing noise. Ethan and Landon looked over to see Dorian laying on the ground bleeding out. Landon immediately ran after him and lunged down before putting his hands under his head.

"Oh my god, Mr. Williams!" Landon cried out.

Ethan slid next to Landon and lowered himself, "Take him and leave."

"What?"

"Take him."

"I'm not leaving without taking you with."

"Somewhere safe."

Landon gave Ethan a confident look and Ethan in turn felt confident. Ethan nodded at Landon's words, placing his trust in him.

* * *

Hope and Alyssa watch the ascendant continues to make noise but before the girls can figure out what's going on a blinding white light flashes and the ground nearby Hope appears Wendy.

"Holy crap. It worked." Wendy smiles wide.

Back in the prison world, Josie continues the spell so that they can get back to the real world.

"I'll get you out, I promise." Lizzie promises her dad.

"I know you will. Now you got to go!" Alaric says gently pushing his daughter into the spire-door.

Right after he Lizzie disappears Diego tackles him from behind.

"I'll never forgive you." Diego confesses and right before he tries punching Alaric his neck gets snapped by Sebastian.

Sebastian goes to help up the fallen Alaric, "It's like I was trying to tell you the night that you shot me. Some people don't know what to do with a second chance."

"Thank you." Alaric thanks with a smile.

"I put Elizabeth in danger. If you wish to thank me, take care of her." Sebastian speeds over to Alaric and pushes him toward the last spire-door. Sebastian turns around to Josie, walks over to her when he gets close enough he bends down, now eye level with her, "So, how exactly do we do this?"

"You touch me and become the anchor." Josie explains.

"Okay. Um... Can you tell your sister... something a better man would say?" Sebastian smiles then puts his hand on Josie's shoulder.

Back in the real world, Josie appears on the ground.

"Hey, you made it." Hope smiles.

Josie stands up slowly.

"Josie?"

Josie turns around to face Hope, "It's me, guys. I'm back." she says then Hope and Lizzie pull Josie into a group hug.

When the hug was over Hope turned to Alaric, "Landon's in trouble."

* * *

Hope ran up to the clearing that acts as an entrance to the woods, she begins looking around searching for any instance of Landon and Dorian. Hope began to panic, she hadn't seen them. What if something bad happened, what if Landon wasn't able to stop Dorian and he died?! Those were all possibilities Hope thought about. Hope looked around but saw nothing; she was beginning to lose Hope but she didn't want to give up on him. Just then, a light came from above, Hope looked up to see Landon descending down with large, fiery wings and Dorian in his arms. As Landon landed, his wings disparate and Alaric ran up from behind Hope to take Dorian from Landon. Alaric left but Hope and Landon stood there looking at each other. Hope was so proud of Landon and her expression showed it; Landon, on the other hand, was happy to have this validation from Hope, even though Hope didn't say it she was proud of him. The moment was ruined when Ethan super-sped next to Landon.

Hope went bug-eyed, "Ethan?!"

* * *

Alaric walked Ethan to the cellar across from Naomi's. Alaric unlocked the cell door and held it open as Ethan walked in. Naomi took notice of Alaric and the boy as Dr. Saltzman began locking the cell.

"Oh look, I got a new cellmate." Naomi chuckled dryly.

Ethan was intrigued by the girl. She seemed familiar.

"Don't listen to her. Her humanity's off." Alaric told.

"Her what?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, nothing." Alaric finished locking the door, "This is just temporary, you'll have a dorm by tomorrow."

Ethan nods, "Okay."

"Okay. Don't get in any trouble, goodnight."

Alaric walks out of the dungeon. Ethan couldn't take his eyes off of her he felt like he knew her. Then he remembered.

"It was you. You killed me! You made like me this!" Ethan thundered.

Ethan hit the bars of his cell and began pacing around the confined space.

"Why am I so mad?!" Ethan thought aloud.

"Your emotions are heightened." Naomi told.

"What?"

Naomi cackled, "You're new. Don't worry. I'll teach you everything you need to know about being a vamp."

* * *

Sebastian stumbles drunkenly in the old Salvatore house making a dramatic fall next to a nearby chair.

"Sebastian." Lizzie says sadly.

"Am I already dead?" Sebastian questions.

"It's a astral projection. Josie's helping me."

"Ah."

"I had to see you. The spell that we did to escape this world is making it unstable. It won't last much longer."

"All good things, as they say."

"Listen, go to a building called Triad Industries in Fort Valley, Georgia. There's a black pit there that's a door to another dimension. Dive in, and maybe you can escape."

"Maybe." Before Sebastian continues talking apart of the roof falls nearby, "If i can make it in time. I'm so sorry for what I did to you."

"I'm sorry that I have such terrible taste in men."

"You know, I did warn you when we first met. You should have kept your distance."

Another piece of the roof falls nearby, "Fort Valley, Georgia. Say it back." Lizzie repeats.

"I remember. I'll always remember." Sebastian says as Lizzie disappears, "Bye, Elizabeth."

* * *

Alaric is getting some of his alcohol for himself and Kaleb, Rafael, and MG because of the day he's had and he thought _'There teens they've probably drank before'_ when he finally collected the alcohol and the glasses Kaleb asks, "Is Mr. Williams gonna be okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, he's fine. He's healing the old-fashioned way. In a hospital." Alaric says pouring the alcohol in the glasses, "Alright. Now, here's the deal. This is a one-time thing, alright? We had a day. So... here's to tomorrow being better."

"Tomorrow being a better day." The boys all say raising their glasses.

* * *

Landon sat in Hope's room, he was waiting for Hope to get back from the showers because apparently,f she wanted to talk. Landon's eyes wandered the room frantically, he was anxious. What did she want to talk about? The suspense was killing him. Landon watched as the door opened and Hope appeared in the frame in some pajamas.

"Hey." Landon greeted.

"Hey." Hope smiled.

"What'd you wanna talk to me about?"

"Oh right, well," Hope climbed onto the bed and sat next to Landon, "What you did today... it was... amazing. You were amazing."

Landon smiled, "Thanks... you were amazing too, like always."

"But you saved the day, Landon. You know, I used to be scared of letting you learn how to fight cause... I was more scared of you being hurt. But, I think with a little bit of training... and a little bit of flight practice, you'll be able to hold your own."

"So we're training again?"

Hope nodded.

"Great." Landon smiled.

"Great." Hope grabbed Landon's hand, "I love you, Landon. And you're so brave"

Landon and Hope looked into each other's eyes. Landon leans in to kiss Hope, he grabs Hope's waist pulling her in closer, eventually pulling the girl onto his lap. The kiss is nothing but hot and filled with lust as their heads angle to deepen the kiss, tongues in each other's mouths, and heavy breaths escaping between them.

Landon flips them over and swiftly moves to Hope's neck, sucking and nipping as she breathlessly moans. Landon barely gives Hope a chance to breathe as he helps her take off her shirt but continues to kiss and nip down her body leaving marks.

* * *

Lizzie sits on her bed looking at the ascendant watching it break as it signifies Sebastian's death. She looks backs at her sister who just gives her sad eyes, then turns back around to lay down in sadness.

* * *

Chris and Myles were sitting on Myles' bed after their amazing date. Needless to say, both of the boys had a great time and both of them wanted nothing but to be close.

Myles stares at Chris' lips as Chris rambles on about who knows what and Myles finds it adorable so he cuts him off to give him a quick peck.

"Were you listening to anything I was saying?" Chris asks scrunching his eyebrows.

Myles chuckles, "Nope." he says making sure to emphasize the "p"

Chris looks at Myles' and smiles, "You really know how to show someone a good time."

"Yeah..." Myles grab's Chris' hand and kisses it, "I guess I do."

The boys smiled before locking lips and falling on the bed together without untangling their lips from one another.

* * *

Alaric drags his sword into the place that Kai is still tied up.

"Given all we've been through, this feels a little anticlimactic. Don't you think?" Kai says trying to save himself.

"Not to me. This..." Alaric brings the sword to Kai's neck, "...is for Jo."

Alaric realized he could kill Kai right here... Then he thought. Kai is too good for death. Kai should rot in one place for the rest of his life. And that what Alaric was gonna enforce.

"You're going back to the prison world." Alaric decides.

"How? It's destroyed." Kai asks.

"Who said there was only one."

* * *

Josie lays in bed cuddled up with her sister tossing and turning but something is different this time because when she opens her eyes there black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter! What was your favorite part?
> 
> The next chapter will be out Thursday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	14. Are People Here Always Like This?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a bright and early morning for Josie as she was tossing and turning in her sleep which caused her sister to wake up. When Josie turned on her back her sister startles her by saying, "You were having a sex dream."

Josie sits up to look at Lizzie, "What? No, I wasn't."

"Please tell me it wasn't Landon. Or Hope for that matter." Lizzie makes a disgusted face.

"I wasn't having a sex dream. Go back to sleep." Josie tells Lizzie as she gets up to use the bathroom.

* * *

"So wait, how did you even get here?" Alaric asked.

It was a bright early-spring day as Alaric as sitting across from Ethan, Alaric was trying to get Ethan's story as to how he got here. No one was expecting this, least of all Alaric; but, Ethan was there and they had to take him in. That is what they do at the Salvatore School.

"Well, the night that I 'died' your uh... daughter I think, she gave me the last of the blood that... Naomi gave us." Ethan started, "Then I uh... died. After that, I woke up on the street and I was hungry. I tried eating but it didn't help. It was until I... killed someone that my appetite was full. One day I saw a flyer about me missing and I knew I had to keep a low profile. So, it was months of not knowing what I was, and not going out till night, and feeding, and repeat. It was the worst."

"Yes, being a newborn is hard. Luckily, I have some expert vampires to teach you all about what you are." Alaric told.

Seemingly on cue, a darker boy with dreads and a lighter boy with an afro walked into the office. The vampire with the afro had a big smile on his face while the other one was more... indifferent. Stoic. Ethan noticed the boys behind him and stood up to face them.

"Hi, I'm MG. This is Kaleb." the one with the afro introduced himself.

"I'm Ethan." Ethan greeted.

Ethan shook hands with the boys, it was nice meeting others like him. The introductions and meetings ended when they all heard the door open. Everyone looked over to see Hope standing in the door. Hope and Ethan looked into each other's eyes for a second, it was just a second but it was enough for both of them to register the situation. Hope and her feelings of shock, Ethan with his rising feelings for Hope.

"Hey, Hope." Ethan greeted.

"Hey. I'm-I'm gonna go." Hope stated.

Hope exited the room and closed the door. The vampires turned back to Alaric.

"We should get going too. We have a day ahead of us." Kaleb nodded.

"Okay, don't do anything that I wouldn't do." Alaric joked.

"Totally not." Kaleb rolled his eyes.

Alaric smiled as the boys left his office.

* * *

Hope was on her way to the Salvatore School football field to watch the kickball game. Hope needed something to take her mind off of her current thoughts; you see, Ethan's arrival didn't ease Hope as she hoped it would. Yes, she was happy that he wasn't dead but Ethan, he represents a different time in Hope's life. A time where Hope didn't have the friends or relationships she had now. A time where things were worse. It was also hard for Hope to be around Ethan without thinking about the night of Chris's birthday. It was all too much for Hope.

Hope soon left the walls of the Salvatore School and began descending to the field. Before Hope could even get to her seat on the bleachers she saw an altercation begin to spark. Jed pushed Jasmine to the ground and Xavier kicked the ball at Jed's face, after the altercation the students all ran onto the field. While this happened Hope saw Josie moving her hands almost in time for what was happening on the field. As the three students involved with the altercation on the field began to argue Hope noticed Josie getting up and leaving the field. Hope began to think the situation on the field wasn't a coincidence.

* * *

MG, Kaleb, and Ethan all approached the entrance of a classroom. The boys peered into the classroom to see a tall blonde man presenting at the small podium in the classroom, in front of the man were a bunch of other students sitting in front of him watching him closely.

"That's Mr. Harrington, he's substituting for Mr. Ramsey who's the vampire teacher." MG explains.

"Vampire teacher?" Ethan asks.

"Yeah, he teaches the vampires how to be better... vampires." Kaleb says.

"Oh. Cool." Ethan gawks.

"Yeah. If you have any questions about vampirism or anything you can just ask him." MG told.

"Will do. I had a question." Ethan states.

The boys look at Ethan and raise an eyebrow.

"What about the... you know, the feeding?" Ethan questions nervously.

MG noted Ethan's nervousness. MG thought that Ethan would be more desensitized to feeding because he's been feeding on his own for a while now but, that wasn't the case.

"Oh, you wanna know about feeding?" Kaleb chuckles, "I got you."

Before any other words could be said, Xavier and three other vamps walked up to Kaleb. They were obviously harboring anger, but for what? Kaleb was about to find out.

"Kaleb." Xavier started.

"What?" Kaleb asked facing Xavier.

"At the kickball game, I had an altercation with Jed and I ended up accidentally punching him."

"Are you sure you didn't just hit him on purpose?"

"Even if I did, his little tantrum wasn't called for, it only caused the wolves and the vamps to fight. The witches also joined in cause Jed pushed Jasmine... Look, man, you need to settle this, or we're gonna have to take it into our own hands."

"Ay, look, don't do anything, alright? I'll take care of this." Kaleb looked to MG and Ethan, "MG, you got the feeding."

MG let out a nervous laugh. Why would Kaleb say that? He knew what even the sight of blood did to MG, so why would he suggest that?

"Kaleb, can we talk?" MG and Kaleb walked a little bit away from the group, "You know what blood does to me, K. I can't teach him about feeding."

"You got this, MG. Just stay calm and if things get too hard remember: look away."

MG nodded, "Right."

"Alright. I gotta go and figure this out. Good luck."

"Same here."

Kaleb and MG exited their little huddle and Kaleb walked away with the other vampires. Ethan slowly walked up to MG with an air of nervousness around him.

"So?" Ethan raised an eyebrow.

"So... I think I'll show you what the vamps here feed on." MG smiled.

That wasn't what Ethan wanted but, it was better than what he knew he had to do so he went along with it. MG and Ethan walked off.

* * *

Kaleb was on his way to Alaric's office. Kaleb was gonna try and convince Alaric to hold an honor council meeting to try and settle the disputes between all factions together. Kaleb knew he didn't want a fight and just talking would be so much easier than having to blow up on each other. As Kaleb approached Alaric's door, he heard, "Yeah, and she's just being weird." from Hope.

What could they be talking about? It doesn't matter, it wasn't Kaleb's business and he came there for one thing and one thing only. Kaleb opened the door to be met by surprised looks from Hope and Alaric, along with silence.

"Am I interrupting something?" Kaleb asked.

"I was just leaving." Hope states.

Hope makes her way to the door but is stopped by Rafael walking in. Hope looked at Rafael confused as to why he was there. Nevertheless, Hope moved to the side and allowed Rafael to enter. Hope decided that she wanted to know what all the heck that was about, so she stood next to the door with her arms crossed and listened in. Rafael walked up to Alaric's desk.

"Dr. Saltzman, we have an issue." Rafael started.

"Well, one at a time." Alaric told the boys.

"Well, apparently Xavier hit Jed in the face with the ball at a kickball game."

"Yeah, Xavier told me that same thing." Kaleb interjected, "Then all the factions got into a huge fight or something."

"That's... weird." Alaric mumbled.

"Actually, Dr. S, the factions have been at odds for days now. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about." Kaleb revealed.

Dr. Saltzman raised an eyebrow in intrigue.

"I think we need to have an honor council meeting to figure out how we're gonna reunite the school." Kaleb finished.

"That's a great idea. You guys get Josie and go to the meeting room, I'll tell everyone to come to me with their complaints. Hope, can you go get Amelia?" Alaric inquires.

"Yep." Hope says before exiting the room.

* * *

Chris sat in front of Amelia's desk as Amelia sat in her chair, listening to Chris' every word.

"And, I'm just happy, like, really happy. And it's weird, I'm never really happy." Chris expressed.

"Well, it's good that you're happy." Amelia smiled.

"Yeah... I guess it is."

"Is this like... weird?"

"What?"

"I mean, this is your first session all year and I was just wondering if it's... you know."

"Amelia... it is a bit weird but it's not cause of you, no, it's cause you're like 1000 years old but you look 16. So, I guess it is a bit you."

Chris and Amelia laughed.

"But, I do forgive you, Amelia. I can't hold grudges forever." Chris consoled.

"Well, thanks." Amelia said sincerely.

The warm moment between the two was cut short when the door opened. The pair both looked at Hope who entered the room quickly. She obviously had something on her mind and Amelia knew she'd have to provide another session.

"Hope, I was just leaving." Chris spouted.

"Actually, Chris I'm gonna need your help." Hope called to action.

Chris curled his brows into a confused look, he didn't know what Hope had in store but he knew it was important.

* * *

Josie, Rafael, and Kaleb all exchanged looks and glances. The air was thick with obvious tension, a tension they all ignored because it was easier than talking about what was really wrong: none of them wanted to be there. It was taxing to be in the honor council, having to deal with everyone else's struggles on top of your own. It was annoying. Amelia entered the tension-filled room.

"I was just informed this impromptu meeting was happening, excuse me for being late." Amelia said before going to sit at the end of the table.

Everyone sits in their seats (Kaleb and Rafael next to each other across from Josie) and Amelia takes out a folder.

"So, from my knowledge, this meeting is about the three factions of the school have been fighting and you all want to fix it." Amelia shut the folder, "You all are to all come to one conclusion on how to fix the issue. I'll be outside to give you all privacy as this is your decision, not mine."

Amelia stood up and exited the room. The three continued to stare each other down, none of them had any ideas and they didn't know how to start the conversation. So it was quiet. Kaleb decided if he didn't start the conversation then they would just be sitting there in silence.

"So...?" Kaleb asked.

"So... I think we need to get the vamps under control." Rafael began.

"What?"

The boys begin to argue and Josie looks away from them, ignoring them. As Josie looked she noticed a plant next to her, Josie soon made the plant die with nothing but her mind. Yeah, Josie had big plans. This was just the first step.

* * *

MG and Ethan entered what Ethan assumed was the kitchen after a rather silent walk. MG waltzed over to the fridge and pulled out a blood bag before handing it to Ethan.

"What's this?" Ethan questioned, taking the blood bag.

"Its blood, drink it." MG told.

Ethan shrugged and took a sip of the blood... only to spit it out on the floor. Ethan thought it was horrific... to say the least.

"What is that?" Ethan queried, disgusted with the foolery that was just in his mouth.

"It's animal blood." MG shrugs.

"It's nasty, that's what it is."

"No, it's not." MG grabs a blood bag from the fridge and takes a sip of it, "See?"

"Uh..."

"Fine, I'll admit it's nasty at first, but when you get used to it, it'll be good. I promise."

"What about like... the real stuff?"

"You don't need the 'real' stuff when you have this."

"But, for the last couple months I've had the real stuff... and I don't like this."

MG deeply sighed, "Fine, I have an alternative."

"Like...?"

"There's some blood bags at the hospital with human blood in them. You got a daylight ring. Let's go get some."

"Perfect. Let's go."

"Let's-"

MG was cut off by an altercation between Myles and Noah beginning. The boys looked over to see the two boys exchanging yells and insults. What they were saying didn't matter, what mattered is that they weren't letting up on each other.

"Are people here always like this?" Ethan inquired.

* * *

Chris and Hope were pacing around the library, scouring the shelves for books and anything pertaining to what they needed to find. Amelia said they needed a dark magic purification spell, which should be an easy spell to find, but Chris and Hope were vigilant. Chris grabbed a book and laid on a table stomach down.

"Have you found anything?" Hope asked from a nearby shelf.

"No." Chris sighed.

"Well, you know what Amelia said to find. Find it."

Chris lays his book down, "I know what we need to find. It's not identification that's the problem, it's intel. How are we gonna cleanse Josie when 50% of team-save-Josie doesn't even know what he's cleansing her from."

"Does it matter?"

"Yeah, Hope." Chris moves to a sitting position facing Hope, "Just tell me, you know I can keep a secret."

Hope sighed. She knew she couldn't keep what she saw in the prison world to herself anymore. She wanted to, though. She wanted to keep it to herself because what she saw wasn't Josie, it was darkness. A darkness that she had to stop. Hope walked over to the table and sat next to Chris.

"It wasn't Josie. It was something dark. She had black eyes and pale skin, her hair was black, she was a monster. And I want to prevent that from happening to her so, can you help me help her?" Hope pleaded with doe-like eyes.

Chris smiled, "I guess 'operation save Josie' is ago."

Hope smiled back. It was nice to have a friend to help her with things like this.

* * *

The honor council room was filled with sounds of bickering and yelling as Rafael and Kaleb argued. Josie looked away from the boys as they went back and forth, she wanted nothing to do with what was going on in front of her, besides she had more pressing matters to worry about.

"You're awfully quiet over there, Jo." Kaleb pointed out.

Josie looked at the boys, "Because, it's not a witch matter. I haven't gotten any complaints from the witches."

As if on cue, Amelia opened the door.

"I've just got word that there was an altercation between Mr. Noah Graham and Mr. Myles Garcia. I suggest you all come up with a conclusion fast." she said.

Kaleb looked to Josie, "I guess it's a witch matter now."

Josie glared back in response.

* * *

Ethan and MG were walking through Mystic Falls after a visit to the hospital. Ethan was drinking blood out of a metal water bottle and he was loving it. Human blood was so much better than animal blood.

"This is great." Ethan spoke.

"Yep." MG nodded.

"Yeah but... when are we gonna try the real stuff? Like from a person." paled Ethan.

There it was again, the nervousness. MG had to say something this time, it might just save the both of them.

"Why do you even care? You obviously don't want to so why do you keep asking?" MG asked the boy.

"Well, the vampire that turned me, Naomi I think, yeah. She told me that if I want to stop the bloodlust then I'd have to drain someone of blood." Ethan explained.

MG sighed, "Naomi isn't the vampire to trust. At all."

"Why not?"

"She has her humanity off."

"What?"

"Vampires can turn their emotions off. It's not recommended, though."

"Interesting. So, I don't have to kill anyone?"

"No, you don't. It won't stop the bloodlust. Nothing can. You just have to learn to live with it."

"Well, I think I've been living with it pretty well as I've been on my own for months."

The boys chuckled as their walk continued.

"But can we go feed? I want some of the warm stuff." Ethan stated.

"Uh... I can't" MG shuddered.

"Why not?"

"Because, I'm a ripper..."

* * *

Hope sat at a table with a book in front of her as Chris paced around reading a book. Chris' phone buzzed and he moved the book to one hand, using his free hand he whisked the phone from his pocket and gave it a look. Chris giggled at the phone and Hope raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" Hope questioned.

"It's just something from Myles." Chris beamed.

"Are you guys together?"

Chris walked over and sat across from Hope at the brown table, "Yeah, I guess."

"Finally."

"What?"

"You two were bound to get together, you have chemistry."

"No, we have English."

Hope rolled her eyes and laughed, "You know what I mean."

"Yeah... I guess you're right."

Chris cracked a warm smile. It was the type of smile you could only have when you're truly happy.

"I'm glad you're with someone new, I thought you'd never get over London." Hope chuckled.

Chris rolled his eyes, "Okay, let's get back to work."

Hope laughed as she continued looking through books.

* * *

"A carnival." Rafael thought aloud.

"How are we gonna pay for that?" Kaleb asked.

"A dance." Josie shrugged.

"We already had one of those this year." Rafael shot down.

"A talent show." Kaleb nodded.

"No." Josie and Rafael said in unison.

The group all groaned. They had been trying to figure out how they could unify the factions but every time someone had an idea someone else shot them down. The unproductive-ness was annoying Rafael, he wanted to be done with this meeting and still have time to enjoy his day but the meeting wasn't ending.

"We're being unproductive." Rafael told.

"Well, if you had good ideas then we'd have an answer." Kaleb snorted.

"See? That's what I'm talking about."

"Rafael's right." Josie butted in, "We need to come up with one idea otherwise this is a waste of time."

The boys looked at Josie. They agreed with her statement and they all began to try and find that one really good idea.

* * *

Ethan and MG were walking through the woods with Ethan closely following MG. The walk had been quiet after MG explained what a ripper was, a part of MG was afraid that he ruined the mood. Ethan however, was intrigued.

"So you can't feed without killing?" Ethan finally asked.

"I can, I just have to train myself." MG sighed.

"That must suck."

"It does suck."

The boys became quiet once more. Ethan hated the silence, he wanted to keep the conversation going but he didn't know what to say. Then it hit him.

"Where are we even going?" Ethan asked.

It was a basic question but it got them talking.

"We're going to the Old Mill. We should be at school, but there's too much drama. Also, the Old Mill is free since Alaric gave the new students temporary dorms." MG explained.

"Gotcha'" Ethan slowly nodded.

The boys soon arrive at the Old Mill to see Jed and some other guys happily talking and drinking.

"Hey, guys." MG waved, "This is Ethan. He's new."

Ethan waved, "Hey guys."

Jed looked at Ethan, "Sup. I'm Jed, alph- the _former_ alpha of the werewolves."

Noah stood behind the couch and smiled, "I'm Noah. Witch."

"Ethan. Vampire." Ethan

"What's your favorite blood type?" a boy inquired.

"Anything I can get my hands on." Ethan joked.

All the vampires broke into a laugh. As the vampires' camaraderie, Jasmine and some other witches entered the Old Mill.

"J-Jasmine?" Noah stuttered fixing his posture to seem more manly.

"What is he doing here?" Jasmine questioned angrily.

Jed stood up to be threatening, "It's a public place, Jasmine. Anyone can be here."

Jasmine furrows her brows into an angry expression before making some nearby liquor bottles float. As Jasmine got into the motion of launching the bottle at Jed, she heard a voice come from behind her.

"Jasmine?"

Jasmine turned around to see Lizzie standing just outside the Old Mill.

"Hey-"

Jasmine was cut off by the sound of glass breaking and a body falling to the floor with a _thud._ Jasmine turned around to see Noah laying on the ground and bleeding from his stomach. After exploring the sight a little more she saw all of the vampires in the room were triggered especially...

"MG?" Ethan asked.

Ethan was the only vampire unaffected by the sight. Ethan looks around at the sight and realizes what he has to do. Ethan speeds over to Noah, picks him up, and speeds the both of them out of the Old Mill. MG comes to his senses and realizes what he had done. He couldn't believe he lost control like that.

* * *

The honor council sat silently in the room. No ideas had been spat out, no idle conversation, not even arguing. Rafael was banking on one idea and he knew if he said nothing then the conversation wouldn't get anywhere.

"Science fair." Rafael put out.

"No. No one here cares about science." Kaleb folded his arms, "I was thinking about a blood drive."

"No one's gonna give their blood to the vamps."

"Well, I'm not hearing any better."

The boys look at each other for a second before realizing who hasn't spoken yet. The boys look at Josie and she raises an eyebrow.

"Don't look at me." Josie commands.

"Right, you'll probably set one of us on fire." Kaleb jeered.

Josie glared at Kaleb as he laughed. Rafael thought about what Kaleb said. Fire. Fire. Fire... that just might work! Matter of fact, it was perfect.

"A bonfire." Rafael proposed.

Josie and Kaleb both look at Rafael. Maybe he was onto something.

* * *

Night fell over the Salvatore School as Chris and Hope were continuing their search in the library even though the search was beginning to seem a lost cause they still looked. As they were searching, Landon walked up to Hope wearing a burgundy button-up with black jeans. Hope was astonished at the sight but she didn't know why he was so did-up.

"Hey." Landon greeted.

"Hey." Hope smiled, "What's all this?"

"For our date, remember?"

Then Hope remembered.

"Oh... our... our date." Hope stuttered.

Hope looked to Chris for help on what to say but she was met with a look from him that almost said, 'this doesn't involve me'. So Hope looked back to Landon and collected her thoughts.

"I actually have to help Josie." Hope told Landon.

"With what?" Landon raised an eyebrow.

"Uh, when I astral projected to the prison world I saw something... dark holding onto Josie. And, now we're trying to find a way to help Josie get rid of this darkness."

"Well, I'll go change and come back to help."

"Uh, okay."

Landon gave Hope a quick kiss on the cheek and walked off.

"Hot date?" Chris asks as he slams a book onto the table in front of him.

"Yeah, we were supposed to go out today but I have to miss it for something else... but what's new?" Hope deeply sighed.

"What does _that_ mean?"

"I don't know I just feel like when it comes down to it, I'll always have to choose something over Landon. Like he's just destined to get hurt."

"Oh, well-"

Chris was cut off when Landon re-entered the library in a more regular outfit.

"Okay, I'm back. You know, there's a bonfire today. If we help Josie in time maybe we can go there together." Landon proposes.

"Maybe." Hope monotones as she buries herself into a book.

"I found it!" Chris exclaimed.

Hope laid down the book she was reading, "Good, we need to find Josie."

"She has to be at the bonfire, everyone is." Landon says.

"Okay, I'll get Dr. Saltzman, you guys get going." Hope orders.

Chris and Landon nod before exiting the library.

* * *

Lizzie sat around her other witch friends laughing amongst themselves around a campfire. Lizzie was having a great time at the bonfire and she was glad that her sister made this call. Speaking of Josie, Lizzie saw her twin approaching her.

"Hey, Josie." Lizzie greeted happily.

"Hey, Lizzie. Can I tell you something in private?" Josie asked softly.

"Uh... yeah."

Lizzie stood up and walked off with her sister. After a bit of walking, Lizzie and Josie were now deep in the woods and far away from the bonfire. Lizzie found herself in front of Josie and when she realized they were too far away, Lizzie stopped.

"So what did you wanna talk about?" Lizzie inquired.

Lizzie twirled around to be met with her sister's face... just one key difference. Josie's eyes were pitch black! Lizzie's eyes bugged out of her head at the sight of her sister.

* * *

Chris and Landon were walking through the woods on their way to the bonfire. As they walked Chris thought about what Hope said. Chris wanted to help quell Hope's fears or at least give her insight into how Landon felt about their relationship.

"Walking through the woods at night. Totally not creepy." Landon joked.

Chris chuckles, "Well if anything comes out at us I'm a witch and your immortal so... I don't think they stand a chance."

"I don't think Hope would say the same."

This was almost too easy, Chris didn't even have to ask Landon. But, he was Landon's friend and Landon has a tendency to share without being asked so, Chris shouldn't have been surprised.

"Why not?" Chris queried.

"She's just always trying to protect me, you know. She doesn't even want me to be a hero but that's all I want. I want to fight by her side not be a sidekick." Landon detailed.

"Yeah, I get that. But you know why Hope is like that, right?"

"She's afraid I'll die on her but, that's the thing: I can't die."

"You never know. Besides when you're so used to something happening to you it's hard not to think it'll keep happening."

"I know it's just... I wish I could make her realize I won't leave her."

"Landon, you're dating Hope Mikaelson. She practically comes with luggage."

Landon sighs, "I know."

"But, her worry just means she loves you. So it's a good thing."

"Yeah, I guess. Thanks-"

Landon was cut off by the bloodcurdling scream coming from a deeper part of the woods. It sounded like Lizzie! The boys immediately jumped into action and sprinted in the direction of the yell. When the boys arrived on the scene they saw Josie holding Lizzie to her knees with a spell.

"Josie?" Chris asked.

Josie turned around.

_"Securus Dormies!"_

Josie chanted. Chris fell asleep leaving Landon on his own. Landon looked at Josie in fear before Josie waved a hand and a stick launched into Landon's leg. Landon fell to the ground and Josie turned around and continued hurting Lizzie. Before anything more could happen, Hope and Alaric pulled up. Hope surveyed the situation for a split second, she saw Landon in pain and Josie hurting Lizzie. Hope knew she could either take the stick out of Landon and heal him but sacrifice Lizzie or Hope could stop Josie from saving Lizzie. Hope knew what she wanted to do and what she had to do.

"Josie?!" Alaric yelped.

Josie turned to her father quickly. Before Josie could do anything, Hope chanted,

_"Ad somnum!"_

putting Josie to sleep.

* * *

Ethan sat in front of a campfire by his lonesome. He didn't have friends at the school and the only person he knew wasn't there so he was lonely and left with his thoughts. Ethan sighed at his loneliness. It was depressing, it was his first day and he already feels like he doesn't belong there. Maybe he was better off on his own. Before Ethan could get deeper into his thoughts, MG plopped next to him.

"Hey." MG started.

"Hey." Ethan responded.

"So... you kinda saw me vamp out today."

"Yeah. But, it's fine. After what you told me it was bound to happen at one point or another."

"True. It's just... it's not the side of myself I like to showcase."

"I get it. We all have that darker side."

"Yeah. How were you so cool earlier?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, all the other vamps were freaking out but you stayed calm."

"I guess I'm just used to it all... I was on my own for a long time."

"Maybe the time alone was a blessing in disguise. It taught you to control."

"Maybe..."

Ethan and MG became silent. That was it. Conversation over. But Ethan had questions, he wanted his anxieties quelled.

"Is it worth it?" Ethan asked.

"What?" MG inquired in return.

"Being a vampire. Is it worth it? Cause all I've got so far has been no family, incurable hunger, heightened emotions, and a life I didn't want."

MG looked down. He didn't know how to respond to this. He had asked himself this question many times... but MG always found an answer for himself. Now someone else needs to hear what he's been telling himself for the longest time now.

"It is worth it. Maybe it doesn't feel like it at first but... being supernatural is great. There are way more people like you than you think, your powers give you the ability to help people, but most importantly you're immortal. You can see things that most people will never see, do things most can't do. You get to have adventures of lifetimes. And you can choose when it's all over." MG inspired.

Ethan internalized MG's words. They were true. There's so much more good than bad about what he's been gifted. He should seize the opportunity he has while he has it. Ethan looked at MG and smiled.

"I guess your right." Ethan said.

"Yeah... not to mention the immortal women that go to this school." MG implied.

The boys broke into laughter. Yeah, Ethan's gonna like it here.

* * *

On the outskirts of the bonfire, Rafael stood alone with a beer in his hand looking at the endless woods ahead of him. Kaleb noticed Rafael's absence from the group and walked over to him.

"Hey, Snoopy. What's up with you?" Kaleb interrogated.

"Not really in the bonfire mood." Rafael said bleakly.

"Dude, this was your idea."

"Doesn't mean I gotta participate. Besides, I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not the most sociable person."

"Okay but... the witches are roasting s'mores for people. That's gotta be a pretty good reason to go, right?"

"Not really."

"Bro, what's wrong? 'Cause, the Rafael I know don't pout."

Rafael sighed and turned to Kaleb, "I beat Lunar Psychosis, I'm cool with Landon and Hope, and we beat Naomi. I don't know what to do now. It's all so... normal. And not Salvatore School normal, before I triggered my curse normal."

"Raf, normal is cool sometimes. It's good to just chill."

"But there's always something. Now there's nothing. And, I'm not talking to anyone so what do I do?"

Kaleb looked at Rafael's sad eyes. He was lonely, lost. He needed direction and Kaleb gave him the best advice he could.

"You live life." Kaleb stated.

Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"You're a teen. Have some fun, hook up with random girls, smoke some weed. Don't stress yourself about the next bad guy, live in the now. And now, we're having a bonfire with s'mores and bad jokes. So are you coming or not?" Kaleb questioned.

Rafael thought about what Kaleb said. He had a good point but should he just relax? Could he just relax? Something else is going to come, he knows it. But, Kaleb has a real point. Besides, what could one night hurt? So, Rafael smiled and started walking back to the bonfire, Kaleb happily followed.

* * *

Chris laid on his bed in his empty dorm. Noah was at the bonfire with everyone else so Chris had time to himself. What did he do with that time? Think about Naomi. Chris likes to say he's getting better about the situation but he's not. He thinks about her at least five times a day, and when he's not thinking about her he's worried about everything else. He wanted to not have to worry about anything, he wanted to be careless. Myles normally brought that to him but he was currently at the bonfire so Chris had time to overthink. Luckily, before he could begin to overthink he heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." Chris told.

Hope opened the door, "Hey."

"Hey."

Hope walked in and took a seat next to Chris, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing. I just got done making sure Lizzie and Landon were okay, and Josie hasn't woken up so, the last stop on the health tour was you."

"Well, I'm fine."

"Good."

Chris looked into Hope's eyes. Chris saw the obvious sadness in her stare so Chris decided to help her.

"Are you fine?" Chris inquired.

Hope sighed and rested on Chris' shoulder, "No."

Chris put a hand on Hope's shoulder, "What is it?"

"It's Landon. Today I had the chance to heal Landon or save Lizzie. I chose Lizzie. And, I know how small that is but it's small situations like that that make me scared... for our relationship."

"Yeah, I see your dilemma."

Hope lets out a large sigh.

"If it's any consolation I talked to Landon." Chris revealed.

Hope took her head from Chris' shoulder, "About what?"

"Just, you know, you guys."

"And what did he say?"

"He said he feels like you're... projecting. You are letting what happened to your parents affects how you feel about him."

"Well, people do have a tendency to die on me." Hope awkwardly chuckles.

"Yeah, but are you gonna let what happened to them affect every relationship you ever have?"

Hope froze for a second. She never really thought of that, but would she? Is she? Is she letting that situation affect everything in her life? She told herself it was okay because it was a big situation but... was that true? Or did she just want to justify her paranoia because she knows she can't take another death?

"All I'm saying is just try to slowly let that wall down. You don't have to do a full 360 or anything but try to... heal. Because you can't heal if it's still weighing you down." Chris spoke softly.

Hope smiles before pulling her friend in for a tight hug.

* * *

Josie lays on the cot-bed in the dungeon as her dad, sister, Hope, MG, and Chris stand outside the cell concerned for Josie.

"Looks like the gangs all here." Josie says then stands up from the cot-bed, "Hmm, why am I locked up, exactly?"

"Well, you've been through a lot. How are you feeling?" Alaric asks.

"Never better."

Lizzie and Hope look at each other then Lizzie looks back at her sister, "You're full of black magic. I was too selfish to see it before, but... I can feel it. This isn't you, Jo."

Josie smiles as her eyes turn black, "It is now." her eyes turn back normally, "So get used to it." she snaps her finger to reveal her black hair and clothing, "Cause this look is here to stay."

"Josie, it's okay. I'm just gonna put you back to sleep until we can figure out what's going on, okay?" Hope says looking very concerned.

Josie's eyes turn black again, "Good idea." she slightly turns her head to the side making Hope fall out but MG catches Hope before she hit the ground.

"Aw, don't look at me like that, MG. Every Super Squad needs a supervillain." Josie said squatting to MG's level then standing back up, her eyes going black once again,

_"Autem."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked the conversations at the end. Feel free to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	15. You Still Have a Long Way To Go

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Naomi sat alone in her cold, damp cell. She had been sitting there for a while now and she was beginning to become very... restless. She wanted to make good on her promise to kill Hope when she got out but she couldn't do that within the limits of her cell. Naomi was ready to be out. But, Naomi knew god was real when she heard the bars of her cell fly out of the sockets. Naomi turned around to see Josie... or what she thought was Josie, standing above her.

"We need to talk." Josie said with a wicked smile on her face.

* * *

Hope paced around her room frantically. As Hope paced, she looked at all the news paper clippings on cork boards and spell ingredients around her room. The sight of them made her furious. It all only reminded her of her failure to find Josie. As Hope was spiraling, MG enters the room.

"Mr. Brown said..." MG catches sight of the mess that is Hope's room, "What is this?"

The room was a mess, books on the floor, and where there weren't books there was paper, and where there wasn't paper there were maps, and where there weren't maps there were spell ingredients. Not to mention how Hope looked, she had eye-bags, her skin was dry, she was paler, it was as if she hadn't left her room in days.

"I'm finding Josie." Hope stated.

"Well, you're late to class and we have a field trip today." MG told.

"How can I go on a field trip if I don't know where Josie is?"

"Josie hasn't done anything, Hope."

Hope moves closer to MG, "So we need to find her before she does!"

MG puts his hand on Hope's shoulders to calm her, "Listen, no matter what threat is coming we still need to get to class."

"I can't go to class if I'm worried about Josie."

"And you can't find Josie if you're in detention for missing class."

Hope thins her lips and looks at MG who smiles in return. MG was right. She was driving herself crazy, she needed to get out.

"Fine." Hope groaned.

MG smiled as Hope grabbed her bag and began walking out of the room. MG stops Hope before she can exit the room and raises an eyebrow at her.

"You're not going like that, are you?"

* * *

Naomi and Josie stood across from each other at the Old Mill.

"What's this new look, Jo?" Naomi raised an eyebrow.

"I decided to change it up a bit." Josie chuckled.

"While I do love the edge... black isn't your color."

"Well, I needed something new."

Naomi shrugs, "Fair enough. But what'd you wanna talk about."

"Firstly." a bloodbag forms in Josie's hand, "Take this."

Naomi was pleased at the sight of the blood, she hasn't had any of the real stuff in a while. Josie tosses the bag to Naomi and Naomi jumps forward to catch it. Sadly, when the bag comes in contact with Naomi's hands it disappears as if it were never there.

"You can get that and so much more than that if you accept my deal." Josie bargains.

Naomi folds her arms, "This better be good."

"I'm putting together a... team of sorts. Truth is, I know I can't accomplish everything I have planned on my own and I need companionship."

"And that's where I come in?"

"Yes. You'll do my bidding, and-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Naomi cut Josie off, "If you wanna work together then we can work together, but this is a partnership not a Batman and Robin situation."

"Fine, partnership. I just need someone to distract the Salvatore students while I pull strings behind the scenes. You know, a distraction so nobody notices all the evil I'm doing."

"I see you took my advice." Naomi smiled.

"Of course, and really all of your help with black magic made me this. I should thank you."

"No, it wasn't all me. Like I said, a lot of it was your choice."

"Right."

Naomi was getting caught up in idle conversation, she had to get focused on finding out why she should take this deal and how it'll benefit her.

"What's in it for me?" Naomi questioned.

"All the blood you can take. I have no problem bringing people for you to kill." Josie smirked.

"What if I like the hunt?"

"Then it'll be catch and release."

From Naomi's expression Josie could gage that Naomi was liking the deal. Little did Naomi know, Josie ran the show. It wasn't a partnership, it was a dictatorship. Josie just had to wait for the right time to assert her dominance. Josie knew Naomi was too strong willed for her to just take control of her but there are... other forms of... persuasion. And Josie had no problem trying them.

"What if, hypothetically, I joined you. What would I do?" Naomi asked.

"I actually have your first assignment." Josie told.

"Oh?"

Josie puts her hand out and a small vile with black liquid in it forms in her hand, "Put this poison in my sister's drink and leave her to die."

* * *

At the Salvatore School, Lizzie sat in front of her dad's desk with an expression of worry on her face.

"Have you heard about Josie?" Lizzie asked.

"No. And I don't want you looking for her. From what Hope told me she has her sights set on you." Alaric warned his daughter.

"Why would she want me dead?"

"I don't know, sweetie. But you have to stay safe. No leaving the school, stick to your new schedule, and come here if anything wrong happens. I can't let you get hurt."

Lizzie hated this. She wanted to be able to continue her life as usual but she couldn't. She knew why she couldn't but knowing doesn't make anything easier. Lizzie was angry that her life had to be put on hold for her vengeful sister. Why did Josie even want Lizzie? What did Lizzie do to her? Things Lizzie asked herself as she sat in front of her dad. Lizzie groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"I hate this." Lizzie grunted.

"I know, Liz-bear. I know." Alaric comforted.

"Constant threats to the school, to the student body. Dad, if this continues do you even think there'll be a school to run anymore?"

This was something Alaric asked himself once before. The day he asked himself this was when Naomi fell off the wagon, and that internal conversation didn't end well. It ended with Alaric realizing he can never protect the students like Caroline could. Maybe he had to hang up his hat and let someone else run the school. But this was his dream, his goal, his aspiration, his purpose. Wasn't it?

Alaric looked at his daughter blankly, he didn't know how to answer. Luckily, he didn't have to as the door opened to reveal MG.

"Uh, Dr. S, I got Hope to go on the field trip."

"Good. Now you go, I can't have Mr. Brown waiting anymore." Alaric commanded.

MG nodded and give Lizzie a little wave as he closed the door.

"I have to basically be quarantined but Hope gets to go on a field trip?" Lizzie scoffed.

"Hope needed to get out. Besides," Alaric reaches into his drawer and pulls out a pager, "I'm giving you a pager. Just page me and I'll come running."

Lizzie reluctantly takes the pager from her father, "How... prehistoric."

"It's retro. Now you need to get to class, we just discussed sticking to your new schedule."

"Yeah, Yeah. I'm going."

Lizzie grabbed her bag that sat next to her chair and walked to the door, before exiting Lizzie looked back to her father.

"Oh, and just because old people on Reddit say something's retro doesn't mean it's retro. That means it's long out of style." Lizzie snorted.

Alaric rolled his eyes as Lizzie exited his office.

* * *

The black concoction in the small vile bubbled and popped in front of Naomi's eyes. She wanted to know what it was or what it'd do, but she knew she had to find out.

"How did you even make that?" Naomi inquired.

"I used the spell on the knife that Lizzie stabbed Chris with and used it as a poison. One drop of it will kill Lizzie by the end of the day." Josie explained.

"Why do you wanna kill Lizzie?"

"I have my reasons, now do we have a deal or not?" Josie raised an eyebrow.

Naomi looked at the the poison. The deal was tempting, but should she take it? It is a good deal, Naomi gets blood and all she had to do was work with the devil. Well, it wasn't like Naomi was a saint either. Naomi looked at Josie. She knew what restrictions needed to be met for Naomi to accept the deal.

"Fine." Naomi swiped the bottle from Josie, "But nothing happens to Chris."

"Chris will be safe." Josie confirmed.

"I guess we have a deal."

The two girls smirked at each other, both feeling satisfied with this conversation.

* * *

Hope looked out of the window as the bus drove through the city, next to Hope was MG who listened to music on his phone. As Hope looked out the window she thought of the worst case scenario and what would happen if she couldn't find Josie in time. Hope just wanted to keep everyone safe, she couldn't lose everything she'd worked for and lose everything she loved once again. MG tapped Hope bringing her back to reality, Hope looks to MG and raises an eyebrow.

"What's wrong? You're sitting there like a sad puppy." MG pointed out.

"I'm just nervous." Hope sighed.

MG thought about his friend and decided to try and calm her. MG took out a headphone and handed the bud to Hope. Hope gripped the white bud and looked at MG with an eyebrow raised.

"What's this for?" Hope questioned.

"Music always calms me down, so I thought maybe it'll calm you too." MG disclosed.

Hope smiled and inserted the bud into her ear. It was nice having friends like MG... even more of a reason to make sure Josie doesn't destroy it all.

* * *

The bell rings signaling the end of class. As students began standing up to leave, Noah and Lizzie (who're sitting next to each other) get their bags and stand up.

"Okay, have a good day students." the teacher smiled.

All of the students filed out of the classroom and the teacher followed. Across the hall, Naomi listened for anybody around. Once she knew the coast was clear, Naomi sped into the classroom to see a lone water bottle on the table where Noah and Lizzie were sitting. This was too easy. Naomi walked over to the water bottle and poured the poison into it.

"It might still be in the classroom." Naomi heard a far voice say.

Naomi slipped the vile into her pocket and sped back to the janitors closet across the hall before she could be seen. Naomi cracked the closet door to see Lizzie and Noah re-enter the classroom.

"Ah, here it is." Noah smiled as he grabbed the metal bottle off of the table.

It was the wrong water bottle. Naomi would've been mad if she felt anything. No, Naomi didn't feel anything about the situation. Her only thought was 'This might be even better'. Naomi watched as Noah took large sips of his water before exiting the classroom with Lizzie. Once the pair were out of sight and the hall was empty, Naomi sped off.

As Lizzie and Noah made their way to the cafeteria for lunch, Noah had an immense pain in his stomach. It was as if something was eating him from the inside out. Noah grabbed his stomach and stopped in his tracks. Lizzie turned around and looked at the boy.

"Noah?" Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

"I-I don't feel so good." Noah stuttered.

Noah took two steps back before falling to the ground and passing out. Lizzie immediately fell to Noah's side.

"Noah? Noah!" Lizzie yelled.

Lizzie didn't know what to do. Who could she call? Everyone was at lunch. Then Lizzie remembered the pager. Lizzie pulled the pager out of her pocket and paged her dad.

"You'll be okay Noah, you'll be okay." Lizzie tried to comfort.

Truthfully, Lizzie didn't fully believe her own words.

* * *

Kaleb hummed as he made his way down to the dungeon with a water bottle full of blood and an empty shot glass. It was time to feed Naomi and as usual Kaleb was the one to do it. Kaleb approached Naomi's cell to see her sitting on the ground with her back to him.

"Naomi, It's time for lunch." Kaleb told.

No response.

"Naomi?" Kaleb raised an eyebrow.

Nothing. Not even movement. Kaleb had a thought... he could've been wrong but it was worth a shot and besides, if he was wrong what was she gonna do? Kaleb threw the shot glass at Naomi and... instead of hitting Naomi, the girl disappeared on impact and the cup hit the wall, shattering. Kaleb widened his eyes, his suspicions were right, Naomi was gone! Kaleb dropped the water bottle and quickly ran out of the dungeon.

* * *

MG and Hope wandered around the art gallery with their classmates. MG looked over to Hope to see her innocently looking around.

"This is nice, right?" MG asked.

"Yeah." Hope lightly laughed, "I'm sorry for ruining the trip."

"It's fine. But don't stress yourself out over these things, Hope. It's not good for you."

"Agreed."

Before MG and Hope realized it, they walked into a back room with pictures sprawled over all over the walls. The pair wander around the room and look at the art, after a while they met back up at the entrance.

"Okay, let's head out." MG nodded.

The pair walked to exit but were surprised when their heads hit an invisible wall. The pair turned around to see Josie standing in front of them in all her darkness.

"You two aren't going anywhere." she smirked.

* * *

Lizzie stood over Noah who laid on a table in the library. Noah and Lizzie both felt terrible, Noah felt terrible because of the poison in him and Lizzie feeling nervous because she wants to help her peer. Alaric ran up to Lizzie.

"I got your message. What's going on?" Alaric asked frantically.

"I-I don't know, Noah just drank some of his water and fell out." Lizzie explained choppily.

"Why didn't you take him to the nurse?"

"Randomly falling out doesn't seem like something the nurse can fix. Besides, it's too late now."

"Fine."

Before anything can be said, Kaleb sped up to them.

"Naomi's gone." he started.

"What?" Alaric and Lizzie gasped in unison.

"I went down to her cell and thought she was there. Turns out, it was just an illusion which means a witch took her. So what do we do?" Kaleb reasoned.

Alaric was in a dilemma. On one hand he had his daughter and Noah, but on the other, he had Kaleb and Naomi. He needed a plan for both problems. He took a deep breath and began.

"Get in contact with the nearest witch and get them to do a locator spell, if she's cloaked then try to find something close to her." Alaric commanded.

"What do I do?" Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

Alaric looked to his daughter, "You stay here with Noah."

* * *

"How did you even get here?" Hope inquired angrily.

Hope was pissed. The one time she wasn't looking for Josie was the one time she found her. She wanted to enjoy herself but something had to come up.

"That doesn't matter. It's the 'why'." Josie told.

"Why are you here?" MG questioned.

"This doesn't involve you."

Josie waved her hand and MG fell to the floor, asleep. Hope follows MG to the ground and shakes the vampire a little bit.

"What did you do?!" Hope yelped.

"He's just sleep... but that can change." Josie smirked.

Hope stands up and faces Josie, "My class can see us."

"Oh... no they won't. I cloaked us."

"My class is gonna leave."

"Then let's get on with it."

Josie began pacing in front of Hope. Hope couldn't believe she was trapped in the room with Josie but it was good because it meant that she wasn't out causing harm to others.

"This should go quick if you cooperate." Josie began.

"What do you want?" Hope groaned.

Josie faced Hope, "I want you to join me."

Hope broke into a laughter, "No. I'm not gonna do that."

"Why not?" Josie continued pacing, "You never fit in with those weak students at the Salvatore School but with me you'll belong. We'll cherish you, accept you."

"You belong at the school too, Josie."

Josie came to a stop, "Don't lie to me. I was never even noticed there. It was always Lizzie."

"What about your friends? What about your dad? Your family."

"Don't talk about family, Hope. Besides, you can't comment on what you don't have."

Hope glared at Josie. She couldn't believe her friend would say something like that. Was Josie even her friend anymore? Or did she fully let herself go into the darkness? Still, Hope stayed silent as to not start a fight that she wouldn't win.

Josie crossed her arms, "Now, do we have a deal or not?"

* * *

Rafael, Kaleb, and Landon were walking through Mystic Falls. The locator spell that Jasmine did showed Naomi behind Mystic Falls feeding on a guy so the boys were on there way.

"It doesn't make sense. Who would let Naomi out?" Landon asked as if either of the boys had an answer.

"I don't know but it's weird." Rafael stated.

The boys stop in front of Mystic Falls High. Kaleb puts his hands on his hips and sighs.

"This is where Jasmine traced Naomi to." Kaleb announced.

Soon the boys entered the school and walked through the halls. Nothing out of the ordinary, just some students entering their classes or hiding in the bathrooms to skip out on the tortures of high school.

"Everything looks normal." Landon shrugged.

"Yeah, a bit too normal." Kaleb said.

"Maybe Jasmine was wrong." Rafael reasoned.

Maybe she was. Maybe Naomi is already long gone and she's in Rhode Island by now. Or maybe the boys didn't have the full picture yet. Either way there was nothing in the hall; at least that's what Kaleb thought. But, Kaleb's suspicions were proven right when the group saw a tall boy walking through the halls with a hand on his neck.

"Look." Kaleb ordered the boys.

Landon and Rafael looked over to see the guy. It was weird. Supernatural type of weird. So, in the spirit of testing his theory, Kaleb cruised over to the boy.

"What's up with your neck?" Kaleb asked the human.

"Oh, you know. Kinky girlfriend went overboard when we were hooking up back by the trash cans." the guy told.

Rafael, Landon, and Kaleb all widened their eyes at the boy's words. Maybe Naomi was right under their noses! Even if they were wrong they had to test it out; so, the boys turned and bolted to the end of the hallway. When the boys opened the exit to the back they were treated to an unpleasant sight: two dead bodies and no Naomi.

Landon moved his hair back, "I guess it was too normal."

* * *

As Lizzie was trying to comfort Noah, she heard footsteps approach, she smiled hoping her dad would have someone who can help. Lizzie turned around to see Alaric and Amelia coming to stop in front of her. Lizzie's smile turned into a quick frown when she saw the beach blonde girl.

"What is _she_ gonna do?" Lizzie queried angrily.

"Well, before I was a school counselor I was a witch. And a powerful one at that." Amelia looked to Alaric, "So what's wrong?"

"Well according to Lizzie, Noah passed out after drinking his water. I'm assuming it's poison but we need you to help." Alaric called to action.

Amelia nods before walking over to Noah. As the counselor approached, Lizzie walked over and stood next to her dad, arms crossed in anger. Amelia puts hand on Noah's forehead and senses the poison. It was just as Amelia expected.

"It's definitely poison." Amelia confirmed.

"Well, can you cure it?" Lizzie inquired.

"I can try."

Amelia placed her hands on Noah and began chanting. Lizzie didn't know what Amelia was saying and it didn't matter, all that mattered was making sure that Noah was okay and Amelia got the hell away. Lizzie hated Amelia, especially after what she did to her last year. She didn't know how everyone could just... forgive her. Lizzie will never forgive Amelia. Lizzie was pulled out of her trance when she saw Amelia take a hard step back and clutch her necklace.

"Did it work?" Alaric questioned.

"N-No. It's spelled with the same spell on the knife that I used to stab Chris. I can't heal it." Amelia's expression became deeply panicked, "I-I have to go."

With that, Amelia ran out of the library. Lizzie got to thinking. If the poison is magical and in Noah's bloodstream then Lizzie could siphon the poison from Noah's blood itself and cure him.

"Dad, I have an idea." Lizzie says excitedly as she turns to her dad.

"What is it?" Alaric raises an eyebrow.

"The poison is magic, right?"

"Yes..."

"Then I can siphon the magic from Noah's blood and cure him."

"Even if that did work, it's dark magic and I don't know how it'll affect you."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"No, Lizzie. We're gonna find another way."

"Which'll be what?"

"... We need to find someone else who can help."

* * *

Josie sat on a small white bench as Hope silently paced back and fourth in front of her. Josie grew tired of the silence.

"You have been silent for the past five minutes. Where's your answer?" Josie prodded.

"I'm not joining you, Josie." Hope asserted.

"Fine. Join me or I'll kill Lizzie."

Hope stopped in her tracks. Of course Josie had to raise the stakes and make this harder than it had to be. Now Hope's options were join the dark side or let her friend die and neither option had a good end.

"Why are you even doing this? Lizzie doesn't deserve to die." Hope stated.

Josie quickly stood up, "That's exactly what she deserves. Why're you protecting her? That's what she doesn't deserve. Besides, aren't you tired of protecting people? You know, saving the day, helping everyone, being the hero. Isn't it exhausting? Why not sit back, relax, and set the world on fire with me?"

Hope looked down. Josie was right, it was tiring always saving the day. But she couldn't let Josie shake her. She couldn't let Josie win. Josie began circling Hope, she was definitely being intimidating but Hope was staying calm. For all she knew, Josie would be able to smell the fear off of her.

"You know, I heard stories about your dad. How he killed for fun and showed no mercy, like a real Mikaelson. You should be more like him. You should be a real Mikaelson." Josie teased.

Hope's expression became one of pure anger and disdain. Hope was tired of staying peaceful, it was time to show Josie what a real Mikaelson looked like. Hope turned around and launched Josie to a nearby wall.

"I am a real Mikaelson!" Hope cried out in anger.

When Hope came to her senses she saw... Landon. Hope was holding Landon to a nearby wall; when Hope realized what she was doing she stopped and covered her mouth in fear of herself.

"Oh my god, Landon. I'm so sorry." Hope gasped.

Josie appeared behind Hope with black eyes.

"What a shame." Josie started.

Hope quickly turned around to see Josie. Hope looked back to where Landon was to see nothing. It was an illusion. Nothing but an illusion. Hope looked back to Josie to see the girl's eyes become a normal brown.

"You have a power. A power that you suppress because you're afraid you'll hurt someone." Josie imitated a sad face to tease Hope before circling the girl again, "Just let it all go. You don't have to be afraid of hurting someone you love if you don't love anyone."

Josie was right. Hope hasn't used her full power since her parents died. She couldn't lose someone because of her actions, not again.

"I can't." Hope stated.

"Why?" Josie asks.

"Because I'm not like you. I don't hurt people."

Josie sits back down innocently, "Girls like me, you, and Naomi have one thing in common."

"And what'll that be?"

"We have nothing to lose but everything to gain." Josie stands up, "So let's start gaining."

* * *

Kaleb, Rafael, and Landon stood outside of the Mystic Grill. Kaleb was on the phone with Jasmine getting Naomi's location while the other boys talked near an outside table.

"So Naomi's on another killing spree?" Rafael raised an eyebrow.

"I guess." Landon shrugged, "I feel bad for Hope, she's always the one who ends up having to fight her."

"Yeah... where is Hope anyway?"

"Her and MG are on a field trip."

"She finally left her room?" Rafael chuckled.

"Yep."

Kaleb hung up the phone and walked up to the boys.

"Enough chat." he said, "Jasmine just told me Naomi's at the old Lockwood cellar."

"Great, let's go." Landon insisted.

"Slow your roll, Snoopy. We need a plan." Kaleb warned.

Rafael and Landon raise an eyebrow at Kaleb.

"Look, we don't know what we're getting ourselves into. She's stronger and faster than us, and if we don't have a plan... she will kill us." Kaleb told the boys.

* * *

Lizzie let out a heavy sigh as she stood over Noah who was looking worse by the second. His skin was pale, he was sweating, his lips had a blue tint. He looked like he was dying. Not to mention the miserable expression on his face. He was dying and she had to save him. Lizzie heard people approach and Lizzie turned around to see Jasmine and Chris standing before her father.

"Have you two found anything?" Alaric inquired.

"Yep. I looked through spell after spell and I found this great healing and cleansing spell that'll heal and cleanse him of black magic." Jasmine smiled.

"Great. You two are getting extra credit for this."

Chris and Jasmine nodded before joining hands to channel each other.

_"Obescro sana, et munda, maiores amico, paupertatis, atque iterum!"_

The pair chanted. They only chanted 4 times before the dark magic in the poison made both of their eyes go black. After being overwhelmed by the magic, the two fell to the ground. Alaric and Lizzie immediately run to the pair and make sure they're okay. They checked their pulses. Still beating. They were fine. Alaric let out a sigh of relief as Lizzie looked at her dad with worried eyes.

"What are we gonna do now?" Lizzie questioned her father.

"I... I don't know." Alaric fretted.

Lizzie groaned before standing up and walking over to Noah. Lizzie put a hand on Noah's head, he was burning up.

"Noah, are you okay?" Lizzie puzzled.

"I don't feel so good, Lizzie." Noah croaked.

Noah opened his eyes... except they weren't his eyes. They were completely blacked out. Lizzie's eyes widened at the sight. She knew she had to save him. Fast.

* * *

Naomi stood in the damp Lockwood cellar with her fangs in a random human. Naomi felt the life slipping from the human and it felt glorious, with every shaky breath the human takes is another drop of blood for Naomi. This was amazing, she almost forgot what it felt like to have a proper meal; she almost forgot the taste, the feeling, the intimacy between her fangs and his neck, the feeling of being able to hear someone's last breath as you watch them fall to the floor and die. And that's exactly what Naomi's victim did as she finished sucking him dry of blood and dropping him on the floor to perish.

Naomi wipes her mouth as she takes her phone out of her pocket to check the time. It was 4 which meant it was time to update Josie on her mission so far. Naomi dialed up Josie and put the phone to her ear.

* * *

Josie's eyes went black as she felt Naomi trying to reach her. It must've been time to get her mission report.

"I'll be back." Josie told Hope.

Josie closed her eyes and let her body fall to the floor as she astral projected away. Once Hope knew the coast was clear, she pulled out her phone and updated Lizzie on her day... at least she was trying to. The service was spotty so the text was taking a while to send. 'This is not the time for this' Hope thought to herself as she looked at the sending text.

* * *

Naomi waits for Josie to answer the phone. She was growing tired of waiting for Josie to answer. Much to her surprise, Josie appeared right in front of Naomi. Naomi gave Josie a blank stare as she took the phone from her ear and hung up.

"You sure know how to make an entrance, don't you?" Naomi fake chuckled.

"I learned from the best. Turns out all of Lizzie's drama paid off in the end." Josie smiled.

"Well, hopefully it doesn't come out here cause we have an issue."

"What?"

"That poison you gave me to use on Lizzie ended up inside of Noah."

"What?"

"Yeah... my bad."

"I specifically told you what you had to do. How do you even mess something like that up?"

"Well, they sit next to each other in class and they have the same water bottle, so... you could see the dilemma."

Josie scoffed and put a hand on her head, "Fine. Fine. We can work with this."

"How?"

"I don't know how, okay?! I want to kill Lizzie! If I wanted to kill Noah I would've done that myself!"

Naomi crossed her arms, "I don't know if this black magic has your brain scrambled, but you know I'm not too keen on being yelled at. So you can disappear now."

"Fine. We'll talk about this later."

With that, Josie disappeared leaving Naomi to her lonesome. Naomi didn't get much time alone before Kaleb super-sped into the cellar and threw Naomi against the bars of the cellar. Before Naomi could do anything else, Rafael ran down and threw Naomi to a nearby wall. Finally, Landon ran down and stabbed Naomi in the stomach with a stick. Naomi clutched her stomach and fell onto her knees in pain.

Naomi let out a laugh, "Congratulations. You took me down."

"Yeah, I guess that means we're stronger than you." Kaleb chuckled.

Naomi burst into a fit of laughter, "I wouldn't say that."

Before the boys knew it, Naomi took out the stick, stood up, and stabbed Landon in the head with it.

"You still have a long way to go." Naomi smirked.

* * *

"Come on, internet!" Hope groaned.

The text was still sending, Hope was afraid it wouldn't even get to Lizzie in time. Then again, Hope didn't know how much time she had left. The text got closer and closer to sending, with each inch the green bar at the top of her screen gained was a higher speed her heart beat. Closer. Closer. Closer. Until...

_Shock!_

The phone fizzled out and fell to the floor. If that wasn't bad, what stood before Hope was worse... Josie. Josie turned her head to MG and her eyes became black before she looked back to Hope with a large smile on her face.

"Noah is dying of an incurable poison and by the end of the day he'll be dead. I just linked MG to Noah, so you have until the end of the day to give me an answer or you'll be losing some Salvatore Stallions." Josie smirked.

* * *

Lizzie and her dad stood side by side in the library. Alaric was trying to come up with a solution to their problem while Lizzie worried over Noah's safety. The worrying was cut short when she felt her phone vibrate. Lizzie took the phone out of her pocket to see a text from Hope. After reading the text Lizzie looked to her dad.

"I just got a text from Hope, she's trapped in the art museum with Josie." Lizzie fretted.

"What?!" Alaric gasped.

"Yeah, we're running out of time. I'm siphoning Noah and going to help Hope."

Before Lizzie could take more than a step towards Noah, Alaric grabbed her wrist.

"No, Elizabeth." Alaric commanded.

Lizzie took her hand from her father's and turned around to face him. She had to save Noah, she was the only one who could. She had to siphon Noah and go help Hope; and that was what she was gonna do. No matter what. Lizzie put her hand on a nearby book and siphoned.

"Sorry, daddy." Lizzie apologized, _"Ad somnum!"_

Alaric fell to the floor, unconscious. After taking her father's keys from his pocket, Lizzie turned around and walked to Noah. Lizzie shook her hands to get them loose and ready for what she was about to do.

"I got this." Lizzie told herself.

Lizzie wasn't too sure if she had it but she knew she had to try. For the greater good.

"Sorry Noah." Lizzie apologized before making a deep cut on his hand with the keys.

After cutting him open, Lizzie put her hand on Noah's making sure to touch the blood. Lizzie took a deep breath, counted down in her head, and began siphoning. It was one of the most painful things Lizzie has ever felt and Noah's screams told Lizzie that he felt the same way. But Lizzie couldn't stop, she had to save him.

* * *

Silence fell over Hope and Josie as Hope tried to find an answer to Josie's proposal.

"So?" Josie asked.

Hope thought about an answer... then it hit her.

"I'm not gonna choose." Hope asserted.

"What?" Josie gasped.

"I'm not gonna choose. I'm not gonna let you intimidate me into making an impossible choice that'll end in everyone getting hurt. I'm not like you or Naomi. I don't hurt people. I'm a hero, and you're one too Josie you're just making the wrong choices."

Hope put her hand out to Josie but Josie pulled away. Josie wasn't going to allow herself to be so easily swayed.

"You think you can solve your problems with one inspirational speech?" Josie laughed, "There is no good and bad, Hope. There is only power, either you have it or you don't"

"I have it but I don't wanna fight, Josie."

"Too bad."

Josie's eyes became pitch black as she summoned a fireball and aimed it to Hope. Luckily, before the ball left Josie's hand MG sped up to her and pushed her to the wall.

"MG." Hope smiled and pulled her friend into a hug.

"Hey, Hope. What the hell happened?" MG queried.

"Uh... long story." Hope turned her attention to the fallen Josie, "You lost, Josie. I'm not joining you and I'm not giving Lizzie up."

Josie looked up at Hope and MG above her. They were right. She needed to regroup herself before she could even try to take them on. Josie stood up and cracked her neck.

"Perhaps I have lost." she started.

Josie's eyes turned black and before the pair knew it, she was outside of the room.

"But it was only the battle, not the war." Josie let out a wicked laugh before vanishing in front of their eyes.

Hope and MG let out heavy breaths before pulling each other into another tight hug.

* * *

Kaleb sped at Naomi with his fists balled. When he tried to punch Naomi, she grabbed the boys' fist, twirled him around, and threw him at the bars behind her. As Naomi caught her breath and admired her work she felt hands wrap around her and hot breath near her neck. It was Rafael. Naomi quickly turned away from his grip and threw Rafael at the nearby wall.

"I can do this all day." Naomi smirked.

The cocky Naomi was soon foiled when Kaleb grabbed her and threw her to the bars behind them as she did to him. Before Naomi could even take a step forward, Rafael wrapped his fist around Naomi's neck and kept her above him in a choke-hold. Naomi looked down at the boys who had satisfied smiles on their faces. Kaleb curled his lips to speak but before the words left his mouth the boys were sent in opposite directions by a strong psychic blast. As the boys hit the walls of the bunker and fell unconscious, Naomi fell into a stand. Before Naomi stood the witch who took care of the boys.

"Josie." Naomi smirked, "Nice save."

"Yes, I have impeccable timing. Especially since it looked like you were getting pummeled." Josie pointed out.

"I had it covered."

"Sure."

"Did you get Hope."

"No..."

Josie looked to her right to see a passed out Kaleb sitting on the floor, "But I think I found something better."

* * *

Hope, Lizzie, MG, Rafael, Kaleb, and Landon all piled into Alaric's office. The group had a day and they all decided it was something to talk about. Hope and Lizzie sat on the couch while Kaleb and MG sat on the arms and the other boys stood behind the couch.

"I can't believe Josie tried to get you to join her." Lizzie says in shock.

"Yeah. I said no, of course but it was... freaky." Hope remembers.

"Today I got stabbed in the head with a stick. I've died every way now." Landon joked

The group chuckled.

"You know, after sleeping all day I've realized one thing: I'm never sleeping again." MG chuckles.

The group shared another laugh. It was nice to be able to relax and lounge around, especially after the day they had.

"On a serious note, we have a witch with black magic and a crazy vampire on the loose around town. What are we gonna do?" Kaleb asks.

"We have to try and get them back on our side." Hope informs.

"But what if we can't, Hope? Not everyone can be saved." Kaleb says being real about the situation.

"She's my sister, Kaleb. We have to save her." Lizzie acknowledges.

"And I won't rest until I find a way to." Hope adds.

"Well take tonight off." said Alaric as he entered the room with cups and a bottle of alcohol.

Alaric poured alcohol into each cup then into his own before sitting on the couch across from his students. All of the students grabbed a cup and looked at their headmaster as he spoke.

"This is a one time thing. We had a day." he said.

Everyone clang their glasses together and drank. Alaric was right, they all had a day and this right here was the perfect fix for the worst of days.

* * *

Rafael was soundly asleep in his room. It felt good to finally be resting after everything he's been through that day. But... something was wrong. Rafael started to get this overwhelming feeling that someone was watching him, so he woke up. When Rafael opened his eyes he saw Josie standing above him. Rafael's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to scream but Josie put a finger over his lips.

"Shhh. We wouldn't want to wake the entire school, would we?" Josie smiles.

"What do you want?" Rafael asks.

"What I want... is a friend."

"I'm not your friend. And I'm gonna tell Alaric that you're here."

Rafael sat up but before he could make any further movements, Josie forced him back down with telekinesis.

"You won't be telling anyone anything... not unless I tell you to." Josie smirked.

Josie put her hands on Rafael's head, Rafael groaned in pain as he felt Josie's darkness infecting him and stripping him of his free will until there was nothing left but Josie's influence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked the Josie and Hope scenes. Feel free to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out tomorrow @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	16. It Was Your Sister (Pt. 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

It was a nice day at the Salvatore School as students navigated their way to their classes. It was nice to finally have just a normal day after what happened the day previous. Kaleb and Xavier were walking to their first class of the day when Kaleb realized he was missing his notebook.

"Damn it." Kaleb sighed.

Xavier looked to his friend, "What is it?"

"I forgot my notebook."

"Oh."

"I'm gonna head back to my room and get it, you keep on without me though. Alright?"

"Okay, I got you."

With that, Kaleb turned around and Xavier pressed on. Kaleb walked back to his room and opened the door. He looked around his dorm to find nothing. He stopped looking and put his hands on his hips. Maybe he misplaced it. Kaleb shrugged before turning around to exit. As Kaleb reached the door, Rafael appeared.

"What's up, Raf?" Kaleb raised an eyebrow.

No response.

"Rafael?" Kaleb asked again.

Still no response. Just a cold, dead stare. Kaleb realized something was wrong and tried to step past the wolf. But, as his leg crossed Rafael, Rafael grabbed Kaleb's cheeks and snapped his neck. Rafael pulled Kaleb close to him to make sure the vampire didn't fall to the ground. After securing Kaleb, he pulled Kaleb's arm to his mouth and deeply bit him.

* * *

Hope and Chris sat across from each other in the common area on couches.

"So we know what we're gonna do?" Chris asked.

Chris was referring to the plan him and Hope created to stop Josie and Naomi. They had been working on the plan for days and they finally have a good idea.

"Hm... let's see, we l-"

"Have you two seen, Kaleb?"

Chris and Hope looked over to see Xavier who seemingly appeared out of thin air.

"Uh." Hope looked at Chris who shook his head then back to Xavier, "No." Hope shook her head.

"Uh, okay." Xavier nodded.

Xavier walked away from the pair, unsatisfied with his answer. Hope and Chris looked back at each other deciding to carry on with their conversation.

"So we got it?" Chris raised an eyebrow.

Hope nods, "Yep. We have the perfect plan."

"Good. I'm gonna get to class."

"See you."

With that, Chris stood up and walked off.

* * *

Kaleb found himself slowly waking. When he woke, he looked around to see cobblestone walls, Naomi sitting in a chair, and Josie standing in front of a table with an assortment of ingredients in front of her. Soon enough, Kaleb felt his hands restricted by leather ties. Under his wrists was what felt like... wood? Kaleb felt the same things on his ankles. He was tied up. Kaleb looked at Josie and Naomi.

"What did you evil bitches do?!" Kaleb looks to his hand to see two holes. A bite mark, "Who bit me?!"

As Kaleb yelled, Josie cracked her neck.

"Shut him up." Josie commanded.

Naomi looked to Josie before speeding over to Kaleb and breaking his finger backward. Kaleb screamed in immense pain and Naomi folded her arms, annoyed with the screaming.

"Thank you." Josie smiled.

Josie continued to work on her spell. If only the other two vampires knew of what she was doing, maybe one of them would've stopped it, maybe what happened this day wouldn't have happened. But they didn't. Even though there were bigger questions to ask, Kaleb only had one concern on his mind.

"Why am I here?" Kaleb interrogated.

"No one will be worried about where I am when they're trying to find you." Josie stated.

"And where are you gonna be?" Naomi questioned.

Josie let out a soft chuckle as she dipped her hands into the blood-filled bowl, "I buried the lead. I'm gonna go get the ingredients that I need to kill Landon... finally."

"My friends are gonna come get me." Kaleb threatened.

"I don't think your friends are gonna be much help." Josie smirked.

Naomi had no idea what Josie meant but she knew it wasn't good. So, she asked.

"What does that mean?"

"Kaleb over there is just a secondary distraction in case the group gets out of the Chambre De Chasse." Josie explained.

"What's a Chambre?"

"That's none of your business."

Naomi rolled her eyes.

Josie began to stir the blood in the bowl with her hands. As she stirred the ingredients in the bloodied bowl, she began to chant.

_"Locus sua mortenduis la chambre!"_

Josie repeated her chant as her eyes turned black.

* * *

Rafael and Landon made their way through the halls of the Salvatore School side by side. As they walked, the boys talked about the current issue at hand.

"I can't believe Naomi and Josie teamed up." Landon said.

"You're saying this now?" Rafael chuckled.

"I mean, yeah. I was just thinking about how we officially have two friends who are enemies now."

"Yeah, well we'll get them back."

"Hopefully."

As the boys walked, they saw Jasmine pass by. As the witch passed, Landon and caught a wink towards Rafael from her. Rafael on the other hand, saw nothing. He was looking straight ahead and slightly ignoring anything outside of his eye-sight. Landon looked back to Rafael, baffled that the wolf didn't catch the girl's look.

"In other news, have you found anyone new?" Landon asked coyly.

"Uh, I'm too busy to date, Lan." Rafael told.

Landon chuckles, "Right."

Rafael and Landon enter their room and soon enough, Rafael realizes what Landon said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rafael raised an eyebrow.

The boys stopped walking and turned towards each other.

"Well- AH!"

Landon made a face of pain before falling on the floor, unconscious.

"Lan? Lan!"

Rafael said as he dropped to his brother's side and tried to make sure his brother was okay. It wasn't long before Rafael made a similar face of pain and fell unconscious as well.

* * *

Chris laid his head on Myles' shoulder as he looked at the water in front of him. The pair were sitting on the dock and having a much-needed talk about Chris' recent feelings.

"So now Naomi and Josie have some weird alliance and I don't think we stand a chance." Chris sighed.

"Hey, don't say that. You guys will get her back and if anyone can, it's you. You have a thing for getting the bad guys on your side." Myles chuckled.

Chris smiled and moved to face his boyfriend. Myles looked to Chris and the boys spent some time just staring into each other's eyes.

"Uh, I'm gonna get to class." Chris stated.

Myles gave Chris a quick kiss before saying, "Okay. See you."

Chris smiled shyly before getting up and walking off. Myles took a minute to look at the water and breath. It was important to just relax. But, the relaxing came to a halt when Myles heard a

_thud!_

Myles looked back to see Chris laying on the ground, unconscious.

"Chris?!"

Myles exclaimed before quickly running to his boyfriend and checking his pulse to make sure he was okay. Chris was still alive but he was far from okay.

* * *

Lizzie and Hope stood arms-crossed in front of Alaric who sat behind his desk looking at the girl's scowls. They were trying to come up with a containment plan for Josie but they so far had nothing.

"What if we put her to sleep until we found a real solution? I mean, that's what my dad did with-"

"I know what your dad did, alright? And no, we're not putting my daughter in a coma." Alaric shut down Hope.

Lizzie and Hope look at each other, they knew it wasn't the best idea but it was something. And they wished Alaric could see that. Lizzie looked back at her father.

"While I hate to admit it, it is a good idea dad. Besides, what other options do we have?" she asked.

"I-I-I don't know." Alaric stammered.

Before anything else could be said, Alaric made a strained face before falling unconscious. Hope and Lizzie looked at each other before Hope saw a strained face appear on her friend. Lizzie soon fell unconscious as well, Hope jumped to her friend's side to help but... Hope found herself unconscious in a matter of seconds.

* * *

MG and Xavier walked down the hallway side-by-side as Xavier panicked about his missing friend.

"He said he was going to get his notebook but he hasn't been back for thirty minutes." Xavier heaved.

"Have you checked the class?" MG questioned.

"Yep. Not there."

"Common area?"

"Mhm."

"Library?"

"Yes."

"His room?"

"No. Not yet."

"I guess that's where we're going?"

"Correct."

"Well, let's go find Kaleb-"

Before MG could complete his sentence, he made a strained face before passing out onto the floor. Xavier looked down at the boy before jumping to his side to try and attend to him.

"MG? MG!"

* * *

Naomi sat on a chair scrolling through her phone. She would be bored out of her mind if she felt emotions. Even though she wasn't bored, she knew what she was doing was boring. She hoped that something would save her from herself.

"If I'm gonna die can I at least get some blood?" Kaleb inquired angrily.

When Naomi said she wanted to be saved from boredom she didn't mean this. The girl looked at the vampire with a slight smirk on her face.

"So you starve me for months and have the audacity to ask me for blood?" Naomi chuckled just to torture Kaleb further.

"You're a psychopath." Kaleb glared.

"I thought vamps were family."

"They're family until they try to kill their own kind."

"Family is based on loyalty. No loyalty, no family. So by that definition were we ever family?"

"So what is Chris to you?"

Naomi gives Kaleb a glare before super-speeding over to him and shoving a stake into his right hand. As Kaleb let out tortured screams of pain, Naomi strutted back over to her chair and took a seat as if she never left.

* * *

Xavier rushed into Alaric's office with MG in his arms, only to see the Saltzman's and Hope all asleep on the floor. Xavier walked MG to a nearby couch and laid him down to further survey the room. Before Xavier could speculate any further, Myles busted into the office with Chris in his arms.

"Dr. Sal- what is this?" Myles questioned as he got a good glimpse of the room.

"I-I-I don't know. I was just walking with MG and boom! He fell out." Xavier explained.

Myles laid Chris next to MG, "Yeah, same here. I was with Chris and he just passed out when he was trying to walk away."

Soon enough, the door opens and the boys look over to see Jed with Rafael and Landon hung over his shoulders like backpacks on a schoolboy's body.

"Let me guess, they were passed out when you found them?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah, I was trying to get Raf for practice but I saw him like this. What is going on today?" Jed questioned as he laid the boys comfortably on the floor.

Myles deeply sighs, "No idea but we need to figure it out. Now."

Xavier heard close footsteps with his vampire hearing, it sounded as though the footsteps were about to arrive right outside the open door.

"Guys, someone is com-"

Xavier was cut off when Ethan appeared in the doorway with a confused look, "What did you guys do?"

"We didn't do anything." Jed spoke, "We just found them like this, we're trying to figure out who did."

"Well, you guys need to figure it out, fast."

Ethan enters the room and closes the door when he crosses the threshold.

"Well, I was thinking that some witch put them all to sleep. Witches can do that, right?" Jed queried.

"Uh, I think so." Myles nodded.

"Well, how would someone put them all to sleep at once?" Xavier raised an eyebrow.

Jed looked over to Xavier and shrugged unknowingly.

"Well, what do we do-"

A knock on the door cut Ethan off. The boys all looked at the door in fear. The boys looked at each other before Ethan slowly opened the door. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as they saw only Noah and Jasmine standing in front of them.

"What in the slumber party...?" Jasmine wondered as she looked around.

"They all fell asleep randomly and in an attempt to help them we came to Dr. Saltzman's office, only to find him, Lizzie, and Hope asleep as well." Myles told.

"Oh wow." Noah blinked.

"Yep, just another day at the Salvatore School." Ethan smiled ironically.

After some deep thinking faces, Jasmine finally spoke.

"Maybe it's the Chambre De Chasse."

"The chamber-de-who?" Noah asked.

"I studied it the other day. But, no one here but Hope would be able to do the spell since it's so big and she's also in it. Someone could siphon the power needed but Lizzie's also in there."

"And Josie hasn't been around." Noah added.

"And Naomi's been gone as well." Jed stated.

Everyone in the room went silent as they started to think of what plans could be afoot. Jasmine soon came to a conclusion and spoke.

"Naomi is using Josie for a spell and Kaleb is being used to siphon." Jasmine concluded.

"We need to find Naomi. Now." Jed told.

"She's probably cloaked, I would need something powerful to channel to break it."

Jasmine began to think of what she could use for the spell. After some looking around, she caught it, she looked to Hope and smirked as she realized what she could use.

* * *

Rafael and Landon woke up in their dorm room but, it didn't feel right. It seemed different. There were no sounds of people conversing in the hallways or any altercations. Nothing. The boys came to a sitting position and looked at each other, both with confused looks.

Meanwhile, Chris awoke at the exact spot where he fell out at the dock; he was confused, he didn't know where Myles went, he didn't know where anyone went. He was alone. But, Chris decided he can't be completely alone, so he ran off to find everyone else.

Lastly, Hope, Lizzie, and Alaric awoke in Alaric's office. The group looked around, they all took note of the lack of noise from the outside or any noise at all. It was quiet. The group looked at each other, no words came to mind to say. Just actions. If someone else was here they needed to find out, so they ran out of the office and to the common area.

When Lizzie, Hope, and Alaric entered the common area they saw others there. It was good to know they weren't alone. The others there with them were MG, Landon, and Rafael. That made six people.

"Where are we?" Hope asked, finally being able to sputter out words.

"I don't know but I swear, if I was Hope and I died in what she's wearing, I'd kill myself." Lizzie gagged.

Hope glared at Lizzie for a second before looking back to everything going on before her.

"Where is everyone?" Landon posed a question.

Before anyone could say anything, MG heard the back door to the school open.

"Guys wait, I hear something." MG said in a hushed voice, putting his finger on his mouth to hush everyone else as well.

Everyone went quiet and stood attentive. This could've been anything. A monster, a rogue witch. Anything. Everyone felt nervousness writhe in them as the footsteps of the creature approached. Closer and closer until.

"Where are we?"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief when they saw Chris standing in front of them.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Alaric answered his student.

As the group broke into conversation, Rafael began to drift off. He wanted to contribute to the conversation but he didn't have even the slightest suspicion as to where they were. Rafael turned around to see seven locks at the entrance to the school.

"Uh... what are those for?" Rafael inquired.

Hope turned around and when she saw the locks it all came to her, it was as if a key unlocked her hidden away memories from a time she hoped to forget.

"I think I know." Hope sighed.

Later, everyone sat around Hope as she finished explaining the Chambre De Chasse. Nobody understood it but they all nodded their heads and pretended they were getting the gist.

"So basically, we have to find what represents us and we can leave." Hope finally finished.

That was the simplest thing Hope had said all day.

"Well let's get looking." Alaric nodded.

Everyone stood up and began to split up except Lizzie who still had one important question on mind. Lizzie jumped to her feet.

"You all are forgetting one important question:" the blonde girl began, "who did this to us?"

Everyone looked to Lizzie with dumb-founded looks. It seemed as though Lizzie was the only person there who didn't know who did this. The group looked to each other, it was almost as if they were trying to decide who would be the one to tell Lizzie of her own short-comings.

"It was your sister." Chris stated.

With that, everyone continued their split up.

* * *

Kaleb groaned in pain as the stake sat in his hand as if it were a king sitting above him on a throne. If the pain of the world's biggest splinter wasn't enough, Kaleb felt himself slipping away. He wasn't sure how much time he had but he knew he didn't have long. Sweat began to gather on his forehead and that's when he knew it was time for him to leave.

"Can you please get this out of me?" Kaleb pled.

"Can you please shut up?" Naomi chuckled as she continued to scroll through her phone.

Kaleb rolled his eyes, he didn't even know why he asked. Oh, wait, maybe because he was dying and the stake in his hand was only making it worse. Kaleb had to find a way out and fast. Very fast.

"Josie didn't tell you to do this." Kaleb pointed out.

"Yes, she did. Besides, it's a partnership." Naomi told the vampire.

Kaleb squinted. Things began to get blurry, he was getting worse. He knew he was getting worse. But, he had to keep it in. He had to get out of here... or at least get the stake out of his hand.

"Really? Cause it looks like you just get bossed around a whole bunch." Kaleb jabbed.

Naomi glared at Kaleb. Naomi felt no emotion at what the vampire said but he did bring up a good point. She was being bossed around. And she wasn't here for it. Kaleb watches as Naomi gets up and begins walking over to him. He felt nervousness grow in him as she approached, Kaleb knew Naomi was unstable and this could go several ways. Kaleb felt more sweat drip down his forehead as he saw Naomi standing above him. Kaleb knew this was it, he shouldn't have provoked her, he should've left it alone, but now he was going to meet his end because of his machismo. Kaleb flinched a little as Naomi slightly raised her hand. 'This is it' Kaleb thought as Naomi lowered her hand, seemingly in slow motion.

Before Kaleb knew it, the stake was removed from Kaleb's hand.

"Will you shut up now?" Naomi inquired with no emotion.

"Only if you admit you're being bossed around." Kaleb repeated.

"I don't get bossed around." Naomi walked to the entrance of the tomb, "See you."

With that, Naomi super-sped off leaving Kaleb with a werewolf bite and regret.

* * *

Jasmine held a sleeping Hope's hand, channeling her as she finished chanting a locator spell. Around her stood the boys who all waited patiently for Jasmine to finish the spell.

"Kaleb's still missing, you know." Xavier snarled.

Jasmine ignored the vampire and finished the spell. Jasmine had visions of Naomi approaching the school hastily, Jasmine felt fear come over her as she shuddered at the thought of an attack from Naomi. Jasmine opened her eyes and stood to her feet.

"Naomi's on her way here. Right Now." Jasmine warned.

"We need to figure out how to get everyone out of the Chambre." Jed commanded.

"Screw the Chambre, we need to find Kaleb." Xavier asserted.

"Naomi is closing in which puts us in immediate danger." Myles added.

"I'll help you find Kaleb after we take care of her." Ethan reassured Xavier.

"Here's the problem: we don't even know where Kaleb is." Noah pointed out.

All the arguing was making Jasmine angry. There was a threat coming and these idiots had to fight instead of coming up with a solution. Jasmine exhaled deeply and decided to play for both teams.

"I'll find him I just need a minute." Jasmine finally said.

"Okay, where is Naomi?" Jed questioned Jasmine.

"She's headed to the Old Mill." Jasmine informed.

"Okay, Xavier, Myles, let's go."

* * *

Naomi walked through the forest on the way to the Salvatore School. She didn't have much of a plan just an intention to walk into Alaric's office and kill anyone in there. If Lizzie was in there... that just makes it better. Naomi was going to prove to Josie that she wouldn't just lie down and take orders, she's stronger than that. Better. And if it takes killing Lizzie and Alaric to prove that... she'll do it.

As Naomi pleasured herself with the thoughts of murder, Jed, Xavier, and Myles approached her. Naomi stopped when she saw the boys. She examined their faces, their stoic looks masking their fear. But Naomi knew the truth. She was like a dog, she could smell their fear... and it was delicious. Knowing she had power over them, knowing they fear death around her, she loved the fear she struck into others; or at least pretended to love it. Truthfully, she felt nothing. The closest thing she had to an emotion was having a goal and stopping at nothing to get it.

"End of the line, Naomi." Jed spoke as though he were a war general ready for battle.

"What's this? The Justice League?" Naomi smirked.

Jed got into a fighting stance, "We're gonna kick your ass."

"I'd like to see you try." Naomi chuckled as she matched them in motion.

Jed charged at Naomi who stood completely still in return. Jed got within arms reach of Naomi in threw a hard punch which Naomi dodged. As Naomi moved back from the fist, she saw another one fly her way when Myles arrived. Naomi dodged both fists and super-speed backward.

"All you do is run away." Jed shook his fist.

"I'm not running away... but you should be." Naomi smirked.

Before the boys could even comprehend what Naomi said, she super-sped to them. Naomi quickly gut-punched Myles who flew backward from the force. As Myles landed on his back, Naomi choked Jed and raised him above the ground. Naomi stared into Jed's dying eyes as he croaked and grabbed onto Naomi's arm.

"Let him go!" Xavier commanded.

Naomi turned her head to see Xavier holding a stick, he was trying to look very brave but he just looked like a scared little boy.

"What if I don't?" Naomi asked in humor.

"I'll kill you." Xavier said bravely, trying to hide his immense fear.

"Okay. Do it. I'm not letting him go."

Xavier wasn't expecting this, he didn't actually want to kill Naomi. Or did he? She has done a lot to him and all of his friends... maybe she deserves it. No. No one deserves that. But then again, Xavier had an opening, it could all be over right now with one throw. Just one throw, just one throw, just one...

Before Xavier could finish his thought he heard a thud on the ground, and before he could comprehend what happened he felt a sharp pain, wood, pain enter his stomach. Naomi stabbed him with the stick. Xavier fell to his knees and gripped his stomach in pain.

"Next time you have a shot, take it. Or else they'll take their shot on you." Naomi advised.

With that, Naomi sped away.

* * *

Noah and Ethan stood guard at the door of Alaric's office while Jasmine sat behind Alaric's desk continuing the spell. She had moved on the off chance that Naomi got in and Jasmine hadn't finished spell so she would have to hide. Jasmine would say she was confident in her ability to finish the spell in time but truthfully... she wasn't. Even though she was channeling Hope who was very powerful, the magic protecting Hope was strong, Jasmine assumed Josie was siphoning a large power source but little did she know of the truth.

"Can you hurry up? I kinda don't wanna die today." Ethan prodded.

"I'm working on it and if you don't shut up, Naomi isn't gonna be the one killing you." Jasmine threatened.

"Guys, cool it." Noah kept the peace.

Noah always kept the peace, he was such a pacifist. A hush fell over the room... it was quiet. Too quiet. There was no noise outside the classroom from what Ethan could hear and the only noise being made were the chants from Jasmine. Everyone must be in class. Suddenly,

Knock, knock, knock!

Three knocks hit the wood door to Alaric's office. Without thinking, Noah opened it only to be kicked to Alaric's desk, moving it slightly backward. The sudden action scared Jasmine into ducking down and chanting quieter. Hopefully, Jasmine could finish the spell before Naomi killed them all. Ethan sprang into action, he tried to uppercut Naomi but the girl sped behind him and snapped his neck. As Ethan fell to the floor, Naomi began to strut confidently to Noah who looked in fear at Naomi.

"Wh-Why are you here?" Noah barely stuttered out.

"Well, I had an impromptu appointment with Dr. Saltzman... but I couldn't find him so I think I'll leave him a message." Naomi smirked.

Naomi swiftly grabbed Noah's shoulder and propped her other hand to enter his heart and rip it out. As Naomi's hand began to launch at Noah, he thought about everything that led him to this moment. The lies, the manipulation, the sadness. He lived a hard life... but not a bad one. He wanted to stop this... but he couldn't. He's never been strong enough to stop anything, that wouldn't change now. So, Ethan submitted. But Jasmine didn't as she sprang up from her spot behind the desk.

"Ossox!"

Jasmine chanted, and with a wave of her hand, Naomi's neck broke and the vampire fell to the ground. An irritated Jasmine walked from behind the desk and scolded Noah.

"Really?" Jasmine pursed her lips at the boy.

Noah looked down, sad from Jasmine's blatant anger. Jasmine rolled her eyes and stepped towards Ethan so she could attempt to revive him; but before Jasmine could even bend down to help Ethan, two girls entered the doorway. One girl had had curly brown hair and the other girl-the shorter girl-wore a grey sweater and plaid pants. Jasmine put her hands on her hips, she was unfamiliar with the girls.

"Who are you?" Jasmine asked.

"I could ask you the same." the shorter girl shot back.

* * *

Hope sat on the steps to the steps to the auditorium. As she sat, she found herself in deep thought of her previous encounter with Josie. She thought about how Josie tried to get her to join her... why her? Why did Josie want Hope of all people to become one of them? Sure she was powerful but she was good... she was undeniable good... right? Before Hope could think deeper, Landon came and sat next to her.

"Hey." He said in his deep voice.

"Hey." Hope said with a slight sadness in her voice.

"What're you in deep thought about?"

"I wouldn't say I'm in deep thought."

"Well, what are you thinking about?"

"It's just... last time we went against Josie she tried to make me join them... why me?"

"Why not you? You're powerful."

"But I'm good... I'm undeniable good... right?"

Landon looked to Hope with a blank face, Hope looked back with worry on her face. She was good... Landon knew that... didn't he? Landon curled his lips into an unsure smile and looked forward.

"I personally don't think anyone's good or bad." Landon stated.

This was exactly what Hope didn't want to hear.

"I think everyone makes good or bad choices." Landon finished.

"But your choices make you who you are." Hope added.

"Exactly. And your choosing to try and save everyone so that makes you...?"

Hope let out a soft chuckle, "A martyr."

"No." Landon chuckles and looks to Hope, "You're good, Hope Mikaelson."

Hope looks at Landon and smiled. She knew Landon would know what to say, he always does. Hope and Landon lean in for a kiss but was interrupted when they heard,

"Come on losers, MG found his ticket out."

from Lizzie. Hope and Landon rolled their eyes before standing up and following Lizzie to MG's room where they met up with Alaric who watched MG hold a jersey in his hand.

"What's with the jersey?" Landon questioned.

"I think this is what represents me." MG answered with Hope in his tone.

The group collective raised their eyebrows into a questioning expression.

"Think about it, Josie's fondest memory of me would most likely when Penelope helped me with the game last year." MG explained as he looked at them.

"What did she help you with?" Lizzie raised an eyebrow.

MG blushed deeply and darted his eyes around the room, "Uh... that doesn't matter. What does matter is after Penelope left I told Josie some stories about Pen to cheer her up and I told her what happened at the game." MG let out a fond chuckle, "She told me that I was giving too much to people who gave me nothing in return."

MG lowered the jersey and looked up, it was as if he were having an epiphany. The group stood alert in the off chance that something was wrong, but their guards were lowered when MG's face returned to normal.

"Oh... cute." Hope shrugged.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? I liked the last scene. Feel free tell us your favorite part in the comments <3
> 
> The next chapter will be out tomorrow @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	17. It Was Your Sister (Pt. 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

While everyone else searched the upstairs, Chris found himself looking around the dark dungeon on his own in search of his object. His thinking was this: if his object was upstairs he'll find it but what's the harm in looking through the dungeon. So that's what he was doing. As Chris was looking through the bars of the cells as if they were windows covering up their own little word, Chris saw a familiar item sitting on the ground in a cell to his right. It was a red case, it was small in height but it was wide; it looked molded to fit a camera in it. It was the polaroid Josie got Chris for his birthday. That must've been his object! But why would it be hidden here away from everyone else? Maybe that was a message from Josie. Maybe she was trying to tell him that he hides away from people too much.

Or maybe Josie was telling him to stop trying to save Naomi for if he continues to let himself be consumed by her, he'll end up like her possibly even worse. Chris then thought maybe his plan to bring Naomi back was for nothing. Besides, what did he expect to come from it? Even if Naomi was brought back nothing would be the same and Chris' suspicions were right. Nothing ever was the same. Regardless, Chris opened the cell and acquired the camera case before returning upstairs.

Chris presented the group with his case.

"Found mine." Chris said before opening the case and pulling out a rather large key.

"Great, two down, five to go." Alaric sighed.

* * *

Jed and Myles walked through the dungeon, they looked at all the cells around them and came to a stop in front of a specific cell that held a sleeping Naomi. Naomi woke up and took in the cell... this was all too familiar.

"Ugh, I'm back here." Naomi gagged as she began to stand up.

"You should've stayed here. Who let you out?" Jed interrogated.

"As if I would tell you."

"Where's Josie?" Myles questioned.

"What makes you think I know?" Naomi asked emotionlessly.

"You're the one that took her." Jed accused angrily.

Naomi took a menacing step forward and sized up the boys... despite being shorter than one of them.

"No matter what I did, you two aren't getting answers as long as I'm in this cell." Naomi told the boys.

The boys looked at each other as they realized this could be harder than they thought.

"We have a problem." Jed said as him and Myles entered Alaric's office.

Jasmine and Noah turned their attention to the wolves.

"Naomi's not talking. She said she's not telling us anything as long as she's in the cell." Myles further elaborated.

"Well, if she won't talk in the cell then take her out of the cell." Jasmine shrugged as if she were talking about someone that wasn't Naomi.

But she wasn't talking about anyone else. It was Naomi. The same Naomi that tried to kill MG in front of the entire student body. And everyone knew that.

"That's stupid, why would we take her out?" Myles furrowed his eyebrows.

"Take her out in vervain chains." Noah added with a slightly demeaning tone.

Noah thought that would be obvious.

"That might work..." Myles thought aloud.

"How's the spell going?" Jed asked, changing the subject.

"I'm getting nothing. I'm starting to think about getting Amelia to help, I don't think I can do it." Jasmine sighed.

"No, we don't need someone to save us. We're not sidekicks. We are just as badass and powerful as Hope and her friends are, we just need to dig deep and save the day! Who's with me?!" Jed proposed putting a fist up and calling the group to action.

Jasmine and Noah gave Jed a blank expression and Myles found himself not even paying attention to his fellow wolf.

"That sounded more inspirational in your head, didn't it?" Jasmine asked the wolf.

Jed put his head down in slight embarrassment.

"Anyways, have any of you heard from Xavier?" Jasmine questioned the group.

Everyone shook their head in response.

* * *

Xavier, Jade, Wendy, and Ethan walked through a graveyard alongside one and other. They were looking for Kaleb and according to Jasmine's spell, he was here.

"I don't see him." Jade started.

"That's the point." Xavier said swiftly with an angry tone.

"It's cloaking magic, we won't be able to see him but if we disturb him in any way the spell will be broken." Wendy explained as she looked around the graveyard.

"I say we split up, you know, divide and conquer. I'll go with Wendy." Ethan proposed.

Xavier looked to Ethan with a betrayed look, "Really bro?"

"What?"

"I don't trust the new girl."

"You know 'new girl' is standing behind you, right?" Jade looked to Xavier with raised eyebrows.

Xavier looked away from the girl and begins to whistle to drown out her baseless sentences.

"Fine, I'll prove you wrong. Look for the smell of sandalwood." Jade advised.

"Why sandalwood?" Ethan inquired.

"Because, when something smells of sandalwood that means it's cloaked." Jade explained before splitting from the group.

Xavier gave Ethan an annoyed look before following after Jade. Later on, Jade and Xavier found themselves walking through the graveyard alone. It was a silent walk but the thoughts were loud. Xavier's bad wished to Jade, Jade's sense of peril. It was all there but words be-felled both of them.

"Look, I don't trust this whole 'good girl' act." Xavier clarified.

"I don't expect you to trust me, or even like me. But, I do expect you to help me find your friend." Jade said bluntly.

"Why? You don't even know him."

"I have a lot of sins to make up for." Jade stated before leaving Xavier.

Somewhere else in the graveyard, Wendy and Ethan walked side by side looking for Kaleb. Ethan wanted to spark conversation but he didn't know what to say. He didn't want to be annoying but ever since he's been a vampire, his eagerness to talk to people has been heightened so has everything else.

"I hear your new here." Wendy began the conversation.

"Uh, yeah... are you new?" Ethan asked in return.

"I've been... around."

"And what does that mean?"

"Let's worry more about finding your friend than my messed up background."

With that, Wendy ended the conversation and walked ahead of Ethan.

* * *

Lizzie found herself in the library looking through the various books on the shelves. She thought that her key would be in a book she didn't have much thinking behind it but she just wanted to get out of the Chambre. Lizzie was looking so deeply in the books she didn't even hear Rafael come up behind her.

"What are you doing?" The wolf asked.

Lizzie jumped a little before turning around to face Rafael, "Sorry, you startled me. Hi."

"Hi. What are you doing?"

"I'm looking through books, maybe my psycho-sister trapped my key in a book to make up for her lack of ability to read the signs and realize that nobody likes her right now."

"Oh. Well, can I help?"

"Uh, sure."

Lizzie turned around and continued looking through books, Rafael did the same. A silence came upon the pair as they looked through books. Rafael found himself sneaking small looks at Lizzie as they searched, he had things he wanted to say he just didn't know how to say it.

"I'm sorry." Rafael spoke.

He decided just to say it.

"For what?" Lizzie looked to Rafael with a confused expression.

"For... everything I did to you."

"Raf, I've been rejected before. You don't have to apologize. I'm over it. I'm on to bigger boy drama now."

"Oh. What's up now?"

"That is a story for when we're not trapped inside a mind-box."

Rafael chuckled and continued looking through books. Soon enough, Rafael pulled out a book that had a big heart on it and was titled "Love in Fairytales" it was weird... Rafael found himself fixated on the book.

* * *

Landon sat on his bed looking at his guitar as if it were a suspicious person on a bus. Hope walked into the room and knocked on the door-frame to get Landon's attention. Landon looked at her.

"Hey." he said.

"Hey." she said in return.

Landon got off of the bed and walked over to Hope, "I have a theory."

"Which is?"

Landon grabs Hope's hand and starts directing her to the guitar that sat next to his bed.

"I think that Josie put my key into my guitar because one night we were gonna- you know what never mind. I'll just look."

"Only one way to test it..."

Landon grips the guitar aggressively and slams it against a chair. As the guitar busts open, a large key falls out of it and onto the floor. Landon grabs the key and brings it to Hope's attention.

"I was right." Landon beamed.

"Seems like you know a lot about her." Hope said, unsure.

"Well, we were friends before we dated."

Hope lets out a fake smile and before Landon can point it out, Lizzie and Rafael enter the room.

"I found my key." Rafael says holding it up.

* * *

MG, Chris, and Alaric scowered Alaric's office for a key, an omen, anything.

"What are we even looking for?" Chris stupidly asked.

"I don't know, that's the point." Alaric said as he lifted a plant.

As the other boys looked around the office, MG found himself drawn to a framed picture of a mysterious woman with black hair and a kind smile. More importantly, however, was the fact that the picture had depth to it. It wasn't completely flat, as if someone hid an object behind the picture. MG grabbed the picture off of the shelf and walked over to Alaric.

"Yo, Dr. S. Isn't this the twin's mom?" MG inquired.

Alaric took the picture and looked at it with sincere eyes, "Yes..."

"I think there's something in it." MG pointed out.

For a second Alaric was overcome with emotion. But, when Alaric heard MG's words, he knew what he had to do. Alaric threw the picture to the ground, shattering the frame but revealing a key that hid behind the picture. Alaric grabbed the key and looked at it. At least they were one step closer to getting out.

* * *

Jasmine and Noah sat across from each other on the floor of Alaric's office. Jasmine quickly flipping through the pages of a large spellbook, Noah watched in silence as Jasmine did her searched. She was mad at him but he couldn't figure out why.

"How's the spell going?" Noah asked, attempting to make conversation.

"I haven't found anything. I want a spell that'll just rip them out but like I said... I haven't found anything." Jasmine spoke quickly.

"I believe in you."

Noah put his hand on Jasmine's and gave her a reassuring smile. However, Jasmine didn't seem to be reassured as she looked at Noah with anger and pulled her hand away.

"Now isn't the time to flirt." Jasmine grumbled.

"Right. Sorry." Noah sniffled as he took his hand back and looked to the floor.

"Are you really? Because earlier you hesitated."

Noah felt shame writhe in him as Jasmine continued speaking.

"I can't be with someone who won't do what needs to be done when it needs to be done." Jasmine finished.

"Are we even together? I mean, we're talking but..."

"I don't know what we are, but I like it. And, I like you."

"I like you too."

"Then what's wrong? Why did you hesitate?"

Noah knew it'd get to this and he knew one day he'd have to tell someone his backstory so why not Jasmine and why not now.

Noah deeply sighs, "I don't even want to be here in the first place. My parents weren't practicing witches and I wasn't going to practice but I could control my powers so... they sent me here. I don't even want these powers. But, there's still a side of me that can't deny the want to learn more about myself."

Jasmine thought about Noah's words and it all began to make sense. Noah's lack of experience with magic was because he didn't even want to have magic. It scared him. Jasmine sighed and grabbed Noah's hands.

"Don't be afraid of what you are." Jasmine told Noah.

"But what if I hurt someone?" Noah pondered.

"That'll be a risk either way. Besides, if you live your life in fear of what you might do, how would you ever know what you can do?"

Noah smiled. He never thought about it like that.

* * *

Jed and Myles held onto Naomi's arms as they walked down by the docks. They were holding onto her on the off chance that Naomi would be able to get out of her vervain-coated shackles.

"Why'd you put them in the Chambre?" Jed interrogated Naomi.

"That's witch business and I'm not a witch, am I?" Naomi asked sarcastically.

She knew what she was doing.

"Why'd you take Josie?" Myles inquired.

"I didn't." Naomi stated.

"Where's Kaleb?" Jed asked.

"Chained up to a chair." Naomi answered, truthfully.

"Why are you doing this?" Myles queried.

"Because I'm not gonna be controlled anymore." Naomi declared.

Naomi strutted over to a spot closer to the water on the dock. Naomi looked around and took in the scene. It was beautiful. But, aside from beautiful, it was the perfect escape plan. The boys angrily trotted over to Naomi with their arms crossed.

"You can stop with the vague answers." Jed commanded.

Naomi turned to face the boys, "Okay. But first, let's go for a swim."

Naomi smirked before super-speeding to Jed and kicking him into the water with enough force to send him flying back relatively far. Myles tried to right-hook Naomi but the vampire quickly elbowed him to the ground. As Myles fell, Naomi began to try and break her vervain-laced shackles by hitting the couplets on her knee.

1 hit

2 hits

3!

The chain binding the shackles broke loose and Naomi ripped the remainder of the bondage off. Naomi was about to make her great escape, but... Myles jumped up and gripped Naomi's hand!

"Stop!" he yelled.

Naomi quickly turned around and sank her sharp fangs into the boy's tender neck. Naomi drew a small amount of blood from the boy but it was just enough to incapacitate him as Naomi super-sped away.

* * *

Hope laid on her bed in her room and took in the scenery. It was strange to her how everything looked so real but so... fake. She knew everything here wasn't real but she never lived in the real world she wouldn't know the difference. And that was the weird thing. Hope heard a knock at the door and looked over to see Alaric entering the room.

"Have you found your key yet? If not, I can help." Alaric offered.

"Uh... yeah." Hope got off of the bed, "Some help would be nice."

"Okay, let's get looking."

A little later, Alaric and Hope had searched the majority of the room and Alyssa's side. They found nothing. In all honesty, Hope was ready to give up and the only thing that kept her going was the sense of urgency that she felt to save her friends. But why did she have to save her friends? Why did Josie even do this?

"Why did Josie do this?" Hope inquired.

It couldn't hurt to ask, could it?

"I don't have an answer to that one." Alaric stated.

Though she wasn't happy about it, that was the answer Hope expected it. Hope continued her search around the room, she came across a framed picture of Landon taped to the wall next to her bed. She touched the picture out of desperation, but, she was shocked to find the picture having... depth. The picture wasn't flat on the wall. There was something behind it. Hope ripped the picture off of the wall and a key was taped in place of the picture. Hope smirked as she gripped the key.

* * *

Lizzie walked around a large classroom, deep in thought. Lizzie thought about many things, there were many things to think about. But, before she could get into deep thought, MG walked into the classroom.

"Hey, Lizzie. What are you doing in the vamps class?" MG questioned.

"I'm just... thinking." Lizzie said meekly, almost emotionless.

MG walked further into the classroom, "About what?"

Lizzie sighs and sits on a desk before crossing her arms. She was upset but MG couldn't particularly tell if she was angry... or sad.

"My sister hates me so much that she put me in here!" Lizzie threw up her arms in frustration.

MG quickly slides next to Lizzie, "We're all in here."

"But what do you think she's doing to my body out there? No doubt she'll put it into a pit of fire and laugh as I burn."

"Josie's your sister. She wouldn't do that."

Lizzie gave MG the side-eye and MG realized he said the wrong thing.

"Her status as my sister doesn't mean anything! She already tried to kill me a couple days ago, and if she had it her way..." Lizzie trailed off as she stood up.

MG raised an eyebrow as he watched Lizzie walk to the podium at the mantle of the classroom and grab the glass skull that the new sub brought into the classroom.

"I'd end up like this!"

Lizzie threw the skull to the ground and it burst into pieces. Lizzie looked down at the mess, there were multiple things she could've focused on at that moment but she only noticed one thing: a key sitting in the middle of the chaos. Lizzie picked the key up and smiled. She may have found the key but she still has much more to look for.

* * *

Hope, Landon, Rafael, Alaric, and Chris all stood in the common area. They agreed to meet there when they all found their keys and everyone had their key, they were just waiting on MG to bring Lizzie to them. Luckily, MG and Lizzie approached them.

"I found it." Lizzie grinned as she held her key up proudly.

"Good. Let's get out of here." Alaric encouraged the group.

Alaric began walking towards the white door and his students followed, relieved to finally be leaving.

"For future reference, next time you get stuck in a Chambre wear something better." Lizzie looked to Hope as she spoke.

"Lizzie, this is your top. You let me borrow it." Hope blinked.

"No, that's Josie's top. There's no way I'm letting you wear my clothes."

With that, Lizzie walked forward. The group arrived at the door, everyone gave a relieved look to each other before inserting their keys into their respective holes. Everyone gave each other a reassuring nod before turning their keys and opening the door.

* * *

Ethan walks into a tomb. The tomb was qualitatively big for a tomb, there wasn't much light, cobblestone walls, and floors, but, and most importantly, it smelt of sandalwood. Ethan found it.

"Guys! I found it!" Ethan yelled to signal the others.

Soon enough, Jade, Xavier, and Wendy all stood in the tomb.

"It smells like sandalwood. He's here." Wendy smiled.

Everyone smiled, they were happy to be able to save their friend.

"I'm so glad you all are here." a voice said.

Everyone turned around to see Naomi entering the room.

"Now I finally have some competition," Naomi smirked before launching herself at the heroes.

* * *

Jed and Myles run into the office. Through pants and huffs, Jed says,

"We have an issue."

Jasmine and Noah stand up, alert.

"What is it?" Jasmine inquires.

"We lost Naomi." Myles revealed.

Jasmine felt a strong sense of anger overcome her as she pinched her forehead. Luckily, someone was there for her.

"I think I can help with that."

Jasmine and Noah turned around to see Hope and the group standing up with prideful expressions on their faces. Hope's expression was met with Jasmine's shocked but happy expression.

"What happened." Hope asked, folding her arms.

"We caught Naomi." Jed started.

"Then we tried to get information out of her." Myles continued.

"Then they lost her." Noah added.

"And now she's on the loose. She's also holding Josie and Kaleb hostage." Jasmine finished.

If only Jasmine knew the truth. No matter, Hope had to keep a brave face for everyone, even if she didn't always feel like being brave herself.

"Jasmine, you and Lizzie get something of Naomi's so I can do a locator spell. Then I'll bring the fight to her." Hope commanded.

"I'm coming." Alaric inserted himself.

Hope turned to Alaric, "No. For starters, you're human and Naomi will snap you like a twig, and second off you need to figure out how to tell everyone here the truth. We can't blame everything on Naomi forever."

"Right."

Hope looked at Alaric for a second before walking out of the room. Time for another battle.

* * *

Naomi threw Jade to a far wall and chuckled as Jade came in contact with the surface.

"This is the most fun I've had all day." Naomi beamed.

Wendy gave Naomi a hard glare before launching a fireball at her. Naomi super-sped to the right to dodge the fireball; as Naomi stepped, she made sure to jump over the now unconscious Xavier and Ethan. Naomi super-sped to Wendy and bit her neck. Jade regained consciousness and noticed Naomi feeding on the helpless looking Wendy. Jade was drawn to the blood, she knew she couldn't have it but she craved it. The liquid red that seeped from Wendy's neck teased Jade as it fell. Jade's eyes became red and Naomi noticed as she took her fangs out from Wendy's neck.

"Oh, you're one of them." Naomi chuckled, "You want a sip?"

Jade began slowly walking towards Wendy. She didn't tell her feet to move, they just did.

"Yep. Come on." Naomi smiled.

Jade got closer... closer to the blood. Jade opened her mouth to reveal her fangs but she found herself asleep at the words,

"Ad somnum!"

Hope walked into the tomb and looked at Naomi.

"Great, you're here." Naomi rolled her eyes.

Hope waved a hand and Wendy fell from Naomi's grip. She was unconscious and bleeding but at least she wasn't being attacked.

"Hey! That was lunch." Naomi complained.

"I can give you something to eat. How about a knuckle sandwich?" Hope snickered.

"Wow... you really are white."

Naomi sped to Hope in full attack mode but she found herself flying back to the wall at the ave of Hope's hand. As Naomi fell on all fours, Hope balled up her fist and gave Naomi a migraine. Naomi screamed and groaned in pain but the screams were silenced when Hope twisted her hand, snapping Naomi's neck. As Naomi fell to the ground, Hope let out a breath.

"I did not have the time to deal with you today."

* * *

Night fell upon the town as Noah sat on the bench in the garden. He thought about the mistakes he made that day. He could've costed everyone the mission, he could've costed everyone their life. Maybe he wasn't cut out for this, maybe he should just leave the school. Soon enough, Noah felt a warm hand on top of his and looked over to see Jasmine sitting next to him.

"Uh, hey." Noah greeted shyly.

"Hey." Jasmine greeted in return.

"So... today was a disaster."

"Yeah." Jasmine chuckled, "If anything was proven today, I am not a leader. I get angry too easily."

"I don't think so."

"Well, what do you think?"

"I think you just wanted to make sure everyone was safe and when no one was listening to you, you got upset."

"Hm... I guess you're right."

Silence fell upon the couple. Noah wanted to apologize but he didn't know how to say it.

"I'm sorry, by the way." Noah apologized.

It's always best to just say it.

"For what?" Jasmine inquired.

"I hesitated today." Noah sighed.

Jasmine looked to Noah, "Noah, I already told you..."

"I know it's just... I had to say it again. Cause I am sorry."

Jasmine looked into Noah's dark eyes. She gave him a little smirk. Noah didn't know what was going through Jasmine's head but he knew he was going to like it. Jasmine leaned in and gave Noah an electrifying kiss.

"You can make it up to me when you take me on a date... Saturday?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

Noah gave a slight nod. He was so shocked he couldn't even fully nod.

"Good." Jasmine smirked.

Jasmine got up and walked away leaving Noah... shook.

* * *

There was a small gathering at The Old Mill and the vamps decided to join. Kaleb, Xavier, and Ethan sat on the couch passing around a drink every time they shared a bad experience about their day. They decided to make a drinking game out of their traumatic day.

"Okay, okay, I'll go first." Ethan drunkenly chuckled, "I got my neck snapped for the first time today."

"Drink." Xavier egged-on Ethan.

Ethan took a small drink from the bottle and handed the alcohol to Xavier. Xavier gripped the bottle and began to think about what to say. After some deep thought, he found it.

"Okay. I got beat up by the love of my life who doesn't love me anymore because she turned her humanity off." Xavier laughed as if he wasn't hurt.

"Drink!" Ethan encouraged.

Xavier took a large swig of the alcohol and handed the drink to Kaleb.

"Man, y'all are both weak." Kaleb scoffed as he took the drink, "I almost died today by two people who I thought were my friends."

Xavier and Ethan gave Kaleb a blank stare. There was no topping that so...

"Drink!" Ethan and Xavier yelled in unison.

Kaleb took a large drink and finished the bottle.

* * *

Rafael stood in front of Myles and Jed in the gym.

"I called you two here to congratulate you guys on holding it down today. Thanks to you guys, the school didn't burn down. Thanks and goodnight." Rafael congratulated.

With that, Rafael walked off. Jed stood their, confused. He considered today a failure, they didn't catch Naomi and they sure as hell didn't get the group out of the Chambre, so what did they accomplish?

"Well, I'm gonna go try and find my boyfriend. Night." Myles said as he began to walk off.

"Oh... night." Jed replied.

And then there's that issue... the Alyssa issue.

* * *

Lizzie laid on her bed in her pajamas. After the day she had, she needed some relaxation. Just her and her vibrator. At least it would be until,

knock!

There was a knock at the door. Lizzie groaned as she sat up.

"Come in." she said.

The door opened to reveal MG.

"Hey." MG started.

"Hey, Milton." Lizzie gave a half-hearted wave.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, Milton. I'm fine. I don't need to be checked up on, I'm not a child."

"Well, you did say some pretty heavy stuff in the Chambre. Do you really think Josie would kill you?"

And truthfully, Lizzie did believe that. Lizzie knew that she was selfish, and crazy, and borderline evil, and she knew that if it was her or Josie... Josie would choose herself any day. But, Lizzie didn't want to admit that aloud so what could she say but,

"I'm fine, MG."

"Alright. If you ever wanna talk, I'm here." MG offered.

"Okay, thanks, close the door on the way out."

MG left the room and did as Lizzie asked. The minute the door was shut, MG sighed. He knew something was wrong.

* * *

Hope entered Chris' room holding a small vile of red liquid. It was time.

"Chris, it's time." Hope told the witch.

Chris practically flew out of his bed, "Hope, are you sure this is the right thing to do."

"No... but this is the only thing to do."

Hope held the vile out to Chris and Chris gave Hope a solemn look.

* * *

Josie walked through the dark forest, she was given a message that her sister was finally giving in and allowing herself to be taken over by Josie and Josie couldn't be more ecstatic. Josie walked a little further before seeing Lizzie before her. It was a glorious feeling seeing her prey before her.

"So you're here. I thought you would've tapped out." Josie snickered.

"Oh, I would never." Lizzie let out a small laugh.

Lizzie began to slowly turn around but as she turned little things about her changed. Her blonde locks became a brown afro, her fair skin darkened in shade, her blue sweater became a blue blazer. Things changed until Josie was standing before Chris. It was all a trick.

"You lied to me." Josie bellowed.

"That was Hope, not me. Maybe if you weren't so gullible you wouldn't have fell for it. I guess old habits die hard." Chris laughed.

Of course, it was all a show. Chris was actually terrified. This plan could go either way.

"I'll kill you." Josie glared intensely.

Chris waved his hand and chanted and ring of fire surrounded the pair.

"Do your worst. We're stuck in here." Chris smirked.

Josie's eyes became black, "Oh I plan to."

Josie lifted her hand and Chris floated in the air... choking.

* * *

Noah frantically runs to Naomi's cell and unlocks the door. Naomi finds herself wanting to know why he did that. They would never just let her out.

"What are you doing?" Naomi raised an eyebrow.

"I think Chris is in real trouble! The l-last I saw him, he was in the woods with Josie and she looked all threatening." Noah stuttered.

Naomi's face turned into a slight scowl. This couldn't be true. They had a deal!

"Josie wouldn't do that. We have a deal." Naomi stated as calmly as she could.

"Even so, she looked like she was going to kill him." Noah explained.

Naomi glares at Noah before shoving him to the wall and super-speeding out of the dungeon as fast as she could. This better not be true.

* * *

Naomi runs into the forest, she ran as fast as she could but it was too late. Chris' neck snaps, the fire ring goes out, and Chris falls to the floor. Dead. Naomi felt tears come to her eyes. Everything came back to her. Sadness, grief, anger, everything she pushed down for so long, it all came back. Her humanity was on. Naomi realized all the lives she ruined and all she could do was sob, now her cousin could be dead. She ran over to him and fell by his side, she held his head and sobbed looking at the body.

"The deal is off!" Naomi shrieked.

"Good. You were of no use anyway. Have a nice funeral." Josie said before walking off.

Naomi sobbed her heart out as she rested his head on her cousins chest. There wasn't a heartbeat, there wasn't anything. He was dead. She lost everything. She knew what she had to do. But, before she could even begin to move, she heard a heart begin to beat. It beat quickly, and soon enough,

gasp!

Chris awoke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER OVER
> 
> The next chapter will be out Tuesday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studios


	18. You Don't Have a Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Naomi sits on her bed. The vampire looks out of her window at the sunny day outside, Naomi would normally enjoy a sunny day but this sunny day was probably the darkest. Just the night before Naomi had her emotions turned on and that means she feels. She feels everything. Every life she ruined, every person she killed, every time she hurt her friends. It was too much. She was frozen.

Meanwhile, Xavier and Chris stood outside of Naomi's door watching her do nothing.

"See? She hasn't moved an inch for three hours." Chris told Xavier.

"You have to help her." Xavier replied with sincerity in his voice.

Chris would ask why it had to be him, but he already knew why. That was his cousin, he was her only family. If anyone can bring her back he can. At least that's what he tells himself, but he couldn't bring her back last time. Still. He has to try.

"Right." Chris firmly nodded.

Chris walked into the room.

"Hey, Nomi." Chris waved.

No response.

"Naomi?" Chris raised an eyebrow as he tapped Naomi's shoulder.

Silence.

Chris sighed. She's obviously not going to respond, he had to give up. Chris turned around and walked out of the room. Naomi remains still as Chris exits the room. Today was gonna be a long day.

* * *

It was a early morning but not to early as Alaric called an emergency assembly.

"I know you are all worried. Believe me, no one is more worried than I am. My daughter Josie is still missing. But even as I speak, we're doing everything we can to find her. Jed and the wolves are attempting to track her. Kaleb and the vampires have compelled local police for any help they can provide. We will find her and bring her home." Alaric sighs, "That said, I just want to reiterate, under no circumstance should any of you approach her. While she is our family and friend, she is under the influence of black magic and... not herself. Your safety and Josie's is my top priority. I promise you I will get through to her and bring back the Josie we know and love safely. But first... we just have to find her." a loud thud from the door interrupts Alaric from his speech. 

"I'm right her, Dad." says walking in the auditorium and instead of walking down the stairs she glided down to where everyone was seated, "Well, don't look so shocked. Did you really think that I would miss my birthday?"

Everyone stared blankly at Josie.

"Oh, I'm sorry, our birthday." Josie says moving a shocked Lizzie's hair behind her ear, "So... what did I miss?" she says now looking at her dad.

* * *

Josie strolls the the halls of the Salvatore school with her squad she quickly formed. At the other end of the hall was MG, he was on his way to class when he seen Josie walking.

Coming to a halt MG speaks, "You multiplied... like Gremlins."

Josie "Supervillians need a squad, too... with a little help of a black magic suggestion spell."

"Can I talk to you for a sec? Without the squad."

"You guys know your assignments. Start prepping my birthday bash without me. I'll catch up." Josie commands her squad to leave.

"Oh, that's not creepy at all."

"I need to make sure that my party goes off without a hitch."

"About that. Happy birthday, Jo." MG hands Josie the gift, "To replace the one I spilled root beer on, when I first got to the school. I think that was the day we became friends."

Josie blankly stares at the vampire before answering him, "You're never gonna give up on the good inside of me, are you, MG?"

"It's not my style."

Josie pulls MG in for a hug but the hug backfires as Josie tries to desiccate the vampire boy but before she can succeed, Kaleb super-sped to pull MG away from Josie.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Kaleb

"Oh, wait your turn, Kaleb. Plenty of hugs to go around." Josie smiles and walks off leaving the two vampire boys dumbfounded.

* * *

Alaric sits in his office looking at Vardemus' simulation box he left behind pondering on what to do with Josie because ever since she's came back it's been nothing but hell from poising Noah, kidnapping Kaleb, and forcing the merge. Before his thoughts can get any deeper he hears a knock at his door, "Come in." Kaleb and Hope enter his office and stands across Alaric's desk.

Kaleb looks at the box on Alaric's desk, "So that's your plan? To lock Josie in a box?"

"Which she could possibly control and get out of?" Hope raised an eyebrow

"I've already talked to Vardemus and he assured me that she wouldn't be able to do that at this difficulty level. Plus, the box will keep her safe until Caroline and I can figure out a way to help her permanently." Alaric explained

"Yeah, but what if she hurts someone before you do? She just tried desiccating MG." Kaleb added

"And that's a good sign because she's fully capable of doing worse. If anything, I see that as proof that she can still be reached." Alaric said

"Yeah, well I looked in her freaky black eyes. and I'm not so sure about that, Doc." Kaleb stated

"Look, we want to help Josie, obviously, but we need to keep the school safe." Hope

"And the only way we can do that is if we treat this like a threat to the school." Kaleb

"I just don't see it that way." Alaric

"We know." Hope

"Gonna have to sit this one out." Kaleb says as Hope flicks her wrist to open the box that was in front of Alaric causing him to pass out in his chair.

"Okay, now what's the plan?" Kaleb asks Hope.

* * *

Landon had finally caught up Rafael in the woods.

"Yo. Finally. I was trying to make my wings do the... I haven't got the hang of it yet, so..." Landon realizes that Rafael's zoned-out, "What's wrong?"

Silence.

"Hey." Landon gently shoves him

Rafael comes out of his daze.

"What was that? Talk to me, Raf."

"Okay, um... so I-I keep having these, these flashes, right, bro? It's like bits and like pieces of memory."

"Memories of what?"

"That's the thing, I don't know whether to call it memories or visions."

* * *

Josie's minions were in the gym prepping for the her and Lizzie's birthday. When Lizzie entered the gym looking for Hope because she couldn't find her anywhere and to her surprise there Hope was sitting on the bleachers.

Lizzie makes her way over to Hope, sitting next to her, "Okay, that settles it. My sister is definitely a monster. Who else would decorate for birthday party with black?"

"Shouldn't you be in, like, witness protection or something?" Hope blinked.

"If she still wants to kill me, the safest place I can be is right here next to you to you, so spill. I want to help you with whatever plan you're cooking up."

"Okay, fine, but just, like keep it down. I don't want her to know that we're up to anything"

Josie appears behind the Lizzie and Hope, "Up to what, exactly? Come on guys, this is all so unnecessary. If you have something to ask me, go ahead. I don't bite."

The startled girls jump a little bit at Josie's appearance before looking back at her.

"Then I will. Where's Josie?" Hope questioned Josie.

"I'm right here, silly."

"The real Josie, our Josie."

"So you mean weak Josie? She's gone-- I thought I made that very clear. Thanks to you, selfish sissy."

"You're right, okay? I was selfish." Lizzie confesses.

Josie playfully nods.

"If you just come back, I'll try and change." Lizzie says sincerely.

"You always try to change. And it never sticks. So pass. Any other questions?"

"You said you came back here for a reason. Because deep down you know that we can bring the good inside of you out." Hope spoke.

"You're right. I do have a reason. And now I have to ruin the surprise." Josie gets up to stand in front of Lizzie and Hope leaning against the railing nearby. She flicks her hand to reveal a banner that says 'Happy Merge Day'

"Merging isn't even possible. We're not 22," Lizzie fretted.

"Yeah, see it turns out that's just a guideline. Kinda of like driving a car or smoking weed. Nobody wants you to do it before you're old enough, but you can. So I'll see you both tonight? Finger foods at around 7:30ish and the the Merge at 8:00. Oh, and don't be late, Lizzie. or else I will have to do something drastic." Josie smiles and walks off.

* * *

Naomi stood in front of her window. The day was still sunny. The sun was still shining. The sun obviously didn't know who it was shining on right now, otherwise it would be raining. Chris walks into the room holding a bloodbag. He's decided to try once more.

"Hey, Naomi. Do you... uh want some blood?" Chris asked nicely.

He hoped he would get a response but he was once again met with dead silence. Chris sits on Naomi's bed and looks up at the back of her head.

"Can you talk to me? Please?" Chris pled.

"I feel too sorry to talk to anyone. Leave me alone." Naomi said blankly.

Chris puts the bloodbag on the bed before getting up and walking out of the room. Again.

* * *

Lizzie is frantically packing to leave because she can't face the fact that her own twin wants to kill her but is distracted by Hope asking her questions.

"I thought you wanted to help." Hope reminded Lizzie.

"That was before I knew that Josie wanted to merge, aka force a battle of wills where the winner literally absorbs the loser... meaning me." Lizzie shouted fearfully.

"Please, just hear her out. Because we can't help Jo without you." MG tried to sway Lizzie.

Lizzie sighs, "Five minutes, Mikaelson. And this plan of yours had better include a nuclear warhead."

"I'm making a potion..." Hope starts.

"Oh! Fizzy, refreshing. Not a nuke." Lizzie cuts off.

"Lizzie? Please." Hope said desperately.

"Okay. Tell me about this potion." Lizzie gave in.

"It will create a fortified locality within your psyche when you merge." Hope explained.

"What do you mean when?" Lizzie raised a eyebrow.

"Well, there's really no way around that part. But if this works, it'll create a safe space in your mind, divide Josie's consciousness and yours when you absorb her." Hope finished.

"And after we detox her with the dark magic cleanse we'll be able to put Jo's mind back into her body." MG added.

"And, uh, both of you will be normal... ish." Hope shrugged.

"Okay, you said when I absorb her. Does this stupid plan only work if I win?" Lizzie asked.

"Technically, yes." Hope answered.

"But... we believe in you." MG encouraged.

"Well, there's your first mistake right there, okay? I am my biggest fan and even I know that Lord Josiemort is gonna squash me like a bug!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"That's why I'm here." MG stated.

"To clean up my bug guts?!" 

"No. To train you."

"I hope you mean mentally because the merge is a mental battle not a physical battle." L

"Well- I-" MG stutters.

"Lizzie's right. We need to find a witch that can help her." Hope pointed out.

"No need. If we want to find out if I'm strong enough to win, I know exactly what witch can tell us." Lizzie sighed.

* * *

Jasmine stood in her dimly lit room pouring strange liquids, into a stranger cauldron, filled with even stranger liquids. Jasmine was making potions, it was her favorite thing to do that's why she got a single so she could do it without any interference. The door flew open and Jasmine looked over to see Josie standing in the doorway. So much for no interference.

"What do you want?" Jasmine crossed her arms.

Josie sauntered up to Jasmine, "You're gonna do something for me."

Jasmine laughed, "The fact that you think I'll do anything for you shows how stupid you are. I'm telling Alaric."

Jasmine tried to walk past Josie but before she could get out of arms reach, Josie tightly gripped Jasmines wrist and began to siphon her. Jasmine groaned in pain.

"You don't have a choice." Josie commanded.

Josie's eyes become pitch black as she begins to take control of Jasmine. Jasmine's eyes become black in return and she begins to feel herself lose her will to Josie. Jasmine soon began to feel a presence in her brain. She couldn't explain the presence but what she did know was that presence was expanding; soon enough, it was only the presence. Jasmine was gone.

* * *

"You're afraid. No. You're absolutely terrified." Alyssa taunted a little.

"No crap. I didn't need your stupid bowling ball to tell me that, okay? Josie is basically Darth Vader..." Lizzie rolled her eyes.

"Would you please shut up? I need to concentrate. Thanks in advance." Alyssa then continues the spell, "You're not scared of Josie hurting you. You're scared of hurting her."

"I've done so much to hurt her already. I just don't want to make the same mistake again."

"You can open your eyes now, cause you don't have to worry about that."

"Really? Hope's plan is gonna work?"

"I don't need a crystal ball to know that Josie... is gonna tear you apart. The merge is a battle of wills. The simple fact that you're afraid of winning and losing... makes you a dead duck."

"Are you seriously telling me that I'm going to die because I became a better person?"

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"Well, in that case, screw personal growth, okay? I am going back to looking out for number one." Lizzie and Alyssa stand up in unison, "To being selfish. To hell with the merge." Lizzie finishes.

"That's the spirit. Live long and prosper, kid." Alyssa says while her and Lizzie were walking to the door.

The door flew open before Alyssa and Lizzie could open the door to reveal Josie.

"She won't. And neither will you." Josie held out her hand, forcing Alyssa's heart to fly into it... killing her, "Mhmm. Was that drastic enough for you?" 

Josie smiles at a scared Lizzie.

"You killed her." Lizzie said shakily.

"And if you don't show up tonight, I'll start killing your actual friends." Josie chuckled.

* * *

Night fell over Mystic Falls as Jed sadly placed Alyssa's body on the couch in Alaric's office. Everyone was devastated by death but most of all Jed who truly believed he loved her. Jed sadly looked to Alaric.

"You're gonna stop her, right? That's what you do, isn't it? Take out the bad guys?"Jed pathetically asks looking at Hope and Kaleb.

"Okay, man, come on, let's-let's get you some air, alright?" Kaleb walks Jed out Alaric's office.

As Kaleb and Jed walk out the Alaric's office MG walks in up to Hope.

"Lizzie's car is gone. She bolted." MG tells Hope, he looks over to Alyssa's body, "Is she..?"

"I knew Josie was dangerous-- I just didn't think that she was capable of something like this." Hope stutters.

Hope felt as though she failed everyone. She had tried so hard to do the right thing and be a good person but she can't help but fail. Maybe she wasn't a good person after all. Maybe she should give up. No. She had to protect everyone and do the right thing; it was her responsibility.

"It's my fault. If I could've just gotten through to her..." MG blamed himself.

"Like I keep saying, there is no getting through to her." Kaleb stated.

"We are not giving up on Josie. The only way to protect the school is to bring her back." Hope asserted.

"Tell that to Alyssa, Hope." Kaleb glared at Hope.

"If we give up now, she'll have died for nothing. So we have to stick to the plan." Hope says to Kaleb then looks to MG, "And you have to brig Lizzie back."

MG gives no response.

"She needs you, MG. We all do." Hope finishes and MG speeds out.

Kaleb walks over to Alaric's hidden room where he keeps his weapons.

"What are you doing?" Hope asks Kaleb.

"What you won't." Kaleb opens the hidden room and grabs a crossbow, "Putting together a plan B. In case you're wrong."

Hope looks at the simulation box Vardemus left behind that sits on Alaric's desk, "I can't let you do that."

"Yeah, what are you gonna do to stop me, Hope?" Kaleb questions.

Hope flicks her wrist to open the box that was on the desk causing Kaleb to pass out.

* * *

Josie struts into Jasmine's dark room with a motive, a plan, and a purpose. Jasmine found herself feeling... nothing. Normally should be upset to see Josie but the presence in her mind changed that. Now Jasmine just looks at Josie as if she's just another person at the school.

"I have the heart." Josie told the girl.

Josie revealed a human heart from behind her back. Jasmine looked at the heart; it felt so... strange. Jasmine knew this shouldn't be okay, she knew she should be freaking out, but she couldn't. Jasmine felt nothing. But Josie, Josie seemed ecstatic to present the heart, almost... proud.

"We have all the ingredients." Jasmine spoke emotionlessly.

"Well let's start." Josie smiled.

Jasmine took the heart into her hand and dropped it into the cauldron, the contents in the cauldron turned into a red color; after that, Josie pulled a small vile out of her pocket and gave to Jasmine who poured the water into the cauldron.

"I need the last ingredient." Jasmine told.

"Yeah, yeah. I know." Josie rolled her eyes.

With a flick of a wrist, a note appeared into Josie's hand. It was a pretty note with a heart drawn on it. Josie gave the note to Jasmine. Jasmine examined the note, it was a beautifully decorated note and one could only imagine what the note contained.

"Pretty note." Jasmine commented.

"It means nothing to me. Burn it." Josie commanded.

Following Josie's command, Jasmine dropped the note into the liquid and grabbed a spoon to stir. Jasmine stirred, and stirred, and stirred until the once red, white, and blue liquid became a creamy light purple.

"Good." Josie said happily.

The evil witch pulled out a hunters knife and dipped it into the elixir.

"This should kill him." Josie said to herself quietly.

Josie lowered the knife and looked to Jasmine as if she were a dumb bitch.

"Oh by the way... you can't remember this."

Before Jasmine knew it, she was on the floor unconscious as Josie happily exited the room in the same manner she came in.

* * *

In his room, Rafael looked at the mirror to see himself staring back. He felt so confused and scared, he had hoped he didn't kill someone but recently he's been losing time and every time he tries to remember what he was missing he couldn't. It drove him mad knowing that he wan't fully in control of himself, he know's what it's like to not have control. He hates it.

Rafael looked behind him at the silver plate.

"Is that thing even working?" Rafael asked himself.

Josie strutted into Rafael's room. Josie looked over on Rafael's bed to see the silver plate laying there. Josie laughs.

"You're really using that?!" Josie snickered.

"Wh-What are you doing here?" Rafael shuddered.

"Oh, right. You're scared.?"

Josie flicked her left wrist and Rafael's eyes flashed black before going back to normal. That wasn't Rafael anymore.

"That's better. I have the weapon." Josie proudly handed Rafael the tainted hunters knife, "You know what to do."

Josie's eyes flashed black and Rafael zombily walked out of the room almost immoderately after.

* * *

Lizzie was leaning on her car as she was let the pump fill up her car with gas.

MG sped up to Lizzie startling her, "It's a classic car. You might want to pump with the good stuff."

"You might want to stop sneaking on people when they're running for their lives." Lizzie removes the pump from her gas tank, "Let me guess. Locator spell?"

"Witches gonna witch."

"Well... let's have it. Your grandiose speech to convince me to go back and face my sister. But just know that I've had that conversation with myself a thousand times. I know I'm being selfish, but am I supposed to do? Let you drag me back to the school so that I can die?"

"Hey, that's not why I'm here. Hoe doesn't want anyone else to get hurt. The way I see it, that includes you. So, if you're running... I'm running, too."

* * *

Hope is in Landon's room sitting on his bed.

Landon walks into his room to see Hope, "Hey."

"Hey. Do you have a second to talk? I kind of need a favor." Hope asks Landon.

"Um... uh, where's Raf?"

"He said he was going out." Hope says standing up.

"Okay. That's weird."

"Why? Is something wrong?"

"Uh, I don't know. Maybe. Although... I could ask you the same thing." Landon says standing face to face with Hope.

"I'm sorry. I know I'm being weird."

"It's okay. What do you need?"

"I need to figure out a way to protect both the school and Josie. I just don't know if I can do both."

"I know you can. You always do."

"I'm glad you think that, because I actually need your help with plan B."

"What's wrong with plan A?"

* * *

As Josie was adjusting a streamer that hung from the wall in the dimly-lit gym, Hope entered the gym, allowing the door to shut behind her. Of course, Josie already knew Hope was there, she felt the presence of the tribrid before she even entered the room. Hope walked to the middle of the gym silently before Josie spoke.

"Well, isn't this a surprise." Josie appeared in front of Hope, almost as if she teleported, "Hope Mikaelson. What do you want?"

"It's time to let the real Josie back out. You had your fun." Hope demanded.

"This is the real Josie."

"No it's not. Josie wouldn't try to hurt her sister."

Josie smiled as Hope spoke. This was a joke to her. Hope was a joke to her. All Josie cared about was killing Lizzie, after that she would leave.

"Speaking of Lizzie, where is my raging bitch of a sister?" Josie asked cooly.

"Lizzie isn't coming." Hope stated.

Josie's smile faded from her face. This is exactly what she didn't want to hear.

"That's too bad... looks like I have to make good on my promise to kill her actual friends." Josie threatened.

Josie's eyes blackened as she thrust her hand forward, sending Hope flying backward.

* * *

Lizzie and MG sit in Lizzie's car.

"Are you sure that you're up for this? It isn't exactly what the green flashlight would do." Lizzie looked to MG

"First of all, it's green lantern, and you know it. Just like you know way too many hobbit insults to not be a secret Tolkien fan. And second, I'm-I'm done playing hero. Alyssa died. And I couldn't help her." MG sighed.

"Does Superman always save the day?"

"Pretty much. But that's a comic book, and this is real. I was stupid to think that I could make a difference."

"If you tell anyone that I read nerd porn, I will deny it. But if I hypothetically did, I would gather that the true test of a hero isn't being strong when it's easy. It's being strong when it's hard."

"If you believed that, you wouldn't need this road map."

"Well, I'm not a hero, either. Heroes are selfless. And that cape doesn't fit me."

"Them why haven't we left?"

"Damn it. Life was so much easier when I only cared about myself. And you totally lied to me. You definitely came to convince me to face Josie."

"When I told you that I would come with you, I meant it. I just trusted that you would make the right decision."

"Double damn it." Lizzie says speeding off back to the Salvatore School, screeching the tires.

* * *

Chris walks into Naomi's room to see no one there. Naomi was gone. The only thing that was left in the room was a note that lay lonely on Naomi's bed. Chris walked over and grabbed the note.

_'Don't come looking for me. I love you, Chris.'_

The note read. This couldn't be good.

* * *

The door the gym bursted open as Hope flew through it and landed on the wall across from the gym doors. Hope fell onto into a sitting position on the ground and tried to recollect herself after the blow. Josie walked to the frame of the now broken door. Josie looked around at the debris that laid next to her feet and she got an idea. Josie pointed at Hope and the wood pieces of the broken door launched at Hope; luckily, Hope recollected herself just in time to do a quick roll and dodge the oncoming projectiles. As Hope stands up, Josie makes a axe from a nearby armor stand fly into her hand and brandished at Hope. Hope turned around and grabbed a shield from the armor stand behind her.

"Josie this isn't you!" Hope yelped as she blocked a hit from Josie.

Josie took a swing at Hope but Hope shuffled out of the way.

"How would you know? You don't even know me!" Josie thundered.

Josie shot her hand forward and blasted a stream of red energy and sent Hope flying backward. Hope flew down the hall and into the common area where she landed on the floor. A couple students in the area ran out when they saw Josie saunter into the common area and look down at wounded Hope.

"This isn't even fun. You're not fighting back." Josie states

"Neither are you, I know that you're in there, Josie." Hope replies.

"Give it up, Hope. What's it gonna take to get it through to your thick wolf skull that I'm Josie now?" Josie's face twists into a scowl as she thrusts a fireball out of her hand. Chris entered the common area.

"Hey Hope-"

Chris was cut off by the fireball hitting him. Chris flew back and fell unconscious.

"Chris!" Hope yelled completely disheartened.

Hope quickly stood up and ran over to Chris. She put a hand on his pulse. Nothing. She checked his heart. Faint. Chris was barely alive. Josie watched in pleasure as Hope sadly examined Chris before she stood up to face her.

"You see what you're doing Josie? You're hurting people." Hope scowled.

Josie laughed, "I don't care. I won't stop hurting people until I get Lizzie and like I said: I'm ready to kill her friends until I get her."

Josie raised a hand and chanted,

_"Ascendo!"_

Hope floated into the air.

Suddenly, Hope waved her other hand and a spear from a nearby armor stand aimed itself at Hope. Josie was ready to kill Hope, right here, right now and Hope didn't wanna believe that but she knew Josie would. Hope floated there as the seconds went by, she didn't know what was gonna happen but she knew it wouldn't end well. Soon enough, the spear launched at Hope. Hope clenched her eyes as the spear got closer, and closer, and closer, until... nothing. The spear stopped.

"I should have mentioned this earlier. But black really isn't your color." Lizzie says siphoning off MG holding Hope in place.

"You're late to your own funeral." Josie smirked with satisfaction.

"No. I'm right on time to kick your ass." Lizzie snapped, she put her hand down so that Hope could land safely and walked over to Hope, "This stupid potion of yours is gonna work, right? Because it tasted like feet."

"It will if you win. Thanks for coming back." Hope smiled.

"Like I had a choice. Dirty trick, sending Jiminy Cricket after me." Lizzie rolled her eyes playfully.

"You would've done the right think if I was here or not. Now siphon me. You got to be at full strength." MG shrugged.

Instead of siphoning off MG, Lizzie pulled him into a kiss siphoning from his lip. Lizzie pulled away from the kiss, "Just to be clear, that was for you and not me. Just in case I lose."

Lizzie turned to over to her sister, "Alright, sister satan. Let's dance, but I'm not getting my merge on until I know that the rest of the school is safe."

"Everyone out. Now." Josie commanded to the lingering students.

"For the record, this a huge act of selflessness fully cancels out all of my previous misdeeds." Lizzie shouts as the students clear out.

When the students had all left, Josie began to cut her hand to prepare for the merge then handed Lizzie the knife so she could cut hers. When Lizzie was done the sisters joined hands and began to chant,

_"Sanguinem desimilus, sanguinem generis fiantus."_

Over and over until they both fell to the floor passed out.

* * *

Later after a faked assembly, Kaleb, Alaric, and MG stood over a sleeping Lizzie. No words were exchanged, no words could be. All they could do was wait and hope. Soon enough, Lizzie awoke. Everyone in the room let out a sigh of relief. Alaric hugged his daughter but before he could speak, Lizzie did.

"Dad... I don't feel Josie anymore." Lizzie said with a breaking voice.

Alaric looked at his daughter. This was his biggest fear. He thought since Lizzie was linked to Landon then the merge would cancel out but now he wasn't too sure about that.

"Um-Uh, try to do some magic without siphoning." Alaric suggested.

Lizzie closed her eyes and held out a palm; fire spawned from Lizzie's palm. This was bad.

"Dammit." Alaric put a hand over his face, "Dammit!"

"Daddy? What's going on?" Lizzie began to tear up, "Why can't feel I Josie?"

"You and Josie merged but you were linked to Landon so that way nothing happened to you. My only question is how Josie is still up."

Lizzie widened her eyes at her dad's words. Lizzie was both relieved and worried, relieved because her sister was okay but worried because who knew what Josie had coming next. But no matter, she had to worry about the issue at hand and the issue was that her and her sister survived the merge.

"Maybe Josie had enough black magic in her to sustain herself." Kaleb theorized.

"No, Lizzie would've absorbed the black magic." Alaric told.

"Not if Josie siphoned magic before hand." MG added.

"That makes sense. The merge is a natural ritual created to take natural magic. If there's natural magic available then Lizzie would absorb it." Alaric thought aloud.

This was all too much for Lizzie. She couldn't believe her and her sister merged, they really merged. The twin connection was gone.

"Where's Hope?" Lizzie asked.

That was the only thing she could ask. But she didn't like what she found...

* * *

Rafael looked to Landon as he began to come back to life from death.

"Welcome back to the land of the living." Rafael says helping Landon up, "So, you gonna tell we what that was all about?"

"Um, Hope needed a plan B. We'll find one for you, too. I promise." Landon replies. 

"I just couldn't bring myself to leave."

"I knew you wouldn't"

"No, you don't, Lan. I mean I couldn't leave."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't leave." Rafael's eyes turn black

To add to the confuson, Landon noticed Rafael's eyes turn completely black. Landon didn't know what was going on but he knew he had to help his brother, he didn't have a choice.

"Raf, are you ok-" Before Landon could finish his sentence Rafael stabbed him.

Rafael looked down at Landon as he fell to the floor. Dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! What was your favorite part? My favorite part was the fight scene between Hope and Josie. Remember to comment your favorite part <3
> 
> The last chapter will be out Thursday @8pm (Pacific Time Zone)
> 
> Follow us on Instagram @gm.studioss


	19. Planning a Memorial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve! I hope everyone is having a happy and blessed holidays. :)
> 
> If you want to know what the extra characters look like go check out our Wattpad @gmstudioss
> 
> We follow along with some of the dialogue in the actual show.
> 
> I hope you like it. Enjoy!

Hope woke up in Josie's mind.

"Well, this is unexpected." Hope says getting up to take in her surroundings, "Josie? Your subconscious is weirding me out." Hope continues to look around when she turns around she sees a trail of bread crumbs, "Literal bread crumbs. Subtle." she follows the bread crumbs.

As Hope walked she looked around at the fairytale-like forest. It was strange that this is what went through Josie's head every day. This was her dreams, deep thoughts, how she processed things. It was... interesting, to say the least. Hope is pulled from her thoughts when she hears trees rustling.

"Wait. It's okay. You don't have to run." Hope softly shouted.

The sound of snorting causes Hope to say,

_"Post tenebras spero lucem."_

and a ball of light appears in her hand.

"You don't have to hide either. I'm gonna hurt you." Hope assures.

The pig appears out of the bushes, "Would you shut your piehole, lady? And put out that light, before you get us both killed."

* * *

Naomi's black car practically flew down an empty road as Naomi drove toward her destination. Naomi didn't know where she was going, all that mattered was that she was leaving; Naomi couldn't be there any longer, she had to leave, she had to start over. As Naomi was speeding, her phone was buzzing over and over, she was being bombarded with texts. Annoyed, Naomi grabbed the phone and looked at the texts to see the news that her cousin was in the hospital. Naomi hit the breaks immediately. Naomi knew where she had to be. Naomi turned the car around.

Later, Naomi walks into the empty hospital to see her cousin lifelessly sleeping on the hospital bed. It saddened Naomi to see her cousin in such a frozen state. Naomi walked over to Chris and put a hand on his body, he was cold. It was scary. Naomi wanted her cousin to be okay but she didn't know if he would be, she had to ensure that he would. Then it hit her. She had a way to ensure that he would be okay; her idea was reckless and stupid but it makes sense. Still, Naomi had to do it. Naomi bit her wrist with her fangs and force-fed Chris her blood.

Myles and Jed hastily walk down the hallway of the hospital on the way to Chris' room. At the front desk, the boys heard that Chris had a visitor and they wanted to find out who the hell was there. The boys enter the room to find nobody there. There wasn't a visitor. The boys look at each other, shrug, and walk over to Chris.

* * *

A fake Lizzie lays "dead" in her coffin as the real Lizzie stand's over her, watching, observing, a bit fascinated.

"I look so peaceful. Angelic, even. No wonder you had a thing for me." Lizzie says.

"That's not why I had a thing for you." MG closes the casket, "And why are you speaking in the past tense? You're alive."

"That wreath can't go there. That is where the doves are being released, which is after the video remember?" Lizzie says walking to where the flowers are being held.

"No. Lizzie that does not matter, okay? None of this is real It's just a show." MG says walking to Lizzie.

"A show to convince homicidal hot topic, Josie, that she killed me, so it better be a damn good one. There's still so much left to do."

"If you're trying it play dead, managing your funeral defeats the point."

"I'm way ahead of you there. That is what this freakishly large ring is for." Lizzie puts the ring on and when glows red she reappears as Hope.

"I'm unique and special. And for some reason, I'm emo about it. Wait here while I go sacrifice myself unnecessarily." the Hope-Lusion smiles, "How'd I do?"

Before MG could respond Alaric walks in with Kaleb and Jed.

"What's going on here?" Alaric questions.

"Hey daddy." the Hope-Lusion says quickly as she steps to her father.

"What is going on?"

"I figured since we're disguising Hope's body as me while she roots around in Josie's subconscious, that I could pretend to be her while she's gone." the Hope-Lusion looks up and down at herself, "Oh. Wow, is she really this short?"

"Elizabeth?"

"You need me to oversee the funeral."

Kaleb leans over to Alaric, "Are we gonna roll with this? Like this is gonna happen-"

"Dad!" Kaleb is cut off by Hope-Lusion.

"Mm." Alaric turns his attention to his daughter.

"The emotion has to be real. And who better to put together a touching memorial to me than... me?"

"Uh, sweetie, I think it's a great idea, but I just- I think people are gonna..." Alaric looks back to Kaleb and Jed then back to Hope-Lusion, "figure it out."

"Yeah, he's right. The pack's never gonna fall for this." Jed nods.

"Ahem. Hello there..." Hope-Lusion walks over to three pack members, "fellow wolves. So nice to see you again, Myles, Sofia, Travis."

"Hey. We're gonna build a human pyramid after the funeral if you want to join." Myles nods to the Hope-Lusion

"I'd love to. And then maybe after we could run outside and stare at the moon for a while." the Hope-Lusion puts her hands together.

"Nice." Sofia and Travis say in unison.

"Okay, see you later Hope." Myles says and heads off with Sofia and Travis.

Hope turns around facing Alaric, MG, Kaleb, and Jed, "The defense rests."

"Fine. But no doves." Alaric reluctantly agrees then walks off.

"Alright, you heard the man. We've got work to do." Hope-Lusion says walking off.

* * *

Alaric is peacefully walking to his office, not at all worried about how the funeral will end up because of the Hope-Lusion going on but knows to have faith in his daughter, hoping she won't make her fake-death noticeable.

"Dr. Saltzman. I need your help." Rafael says to Alaric with pleading eyes.

"Okay." Alaric nods unsurely.

* * *

In the woods of Josie's mind, Hope is struggling to keep up with the annoying pig.

"Hey, would you wait up?" Hope asked quite aggressively.

"Take your 'innocent girl with the basket' act someplace else. The last thing I need is some trigger-happy skirt doing magic near me." Pig jabbed.

"Why? What happens if I do magic?"

Pig stops to face Hope, "Don't find out!" he continues to walk, "Quit following me. You don't belong here, toots."

"Sexist talking pigs aren't really my thing. I'd love to leave, but I'm not going anywhere until I find my friend Josie." Hope says following behind Pig.

Pig stops, "What do you want with her?"

"I came to rescue her."

"Yeah, well, you're too late for that." Pig continues walking.

"What do you mean?"

"Pull up a stump." Pig pulls out a stump and sits.

"Okay." Hope nods.

"Once upon a time, this was a beautiful land. A peaceful kingdom, ruled by Princess Josette. And then the darkness came. The princess tried to fight it, but using her magic only made the darkness stronger. It was tied to her somehow, and if she kept fighting it, the darkness would grow to cover the entire land. So Princess Josie placed a sleeping spell on herself so that she could never do magic again, and so that the darkness could never grow. If we wake her u, the darkness will grow again. So... as much as we all miss her, this is how it has to be. Destiny's a bitch, huh, doll?"

"Maybe. But I still have to try. She would do the same for me."

Hope stands, "And I think I know how to find her,

"Uh, you don't want to do that."

Hope stops walking, "Where's the rest of the trail?" she turns around to the Pig.

"Well, um, here's the thing. You-You're not gonna believe this. The, uh- whenever, heh, the, uh, elements, um... Uh, you know what, I ate it. Okay? I ate it! Haha! "Why would I do that?" she asks. Because I'm disgusting, and I have no self-control. Do you see the package that I'm working with right now?"

"Okay, you know where this trail goes. You know where she is. If you don't tell me where she went, I'm gonna do start doing some magic."

"The darkness will come."

"Facing darkness is kinda my thing."

"Fine. Fine! Gah! You're a bossy little thing, you know that?"

"Ah, that's a compliment in my world."

"Remind me not to visit that place."

* * *

"Raf, just calm down, okay? Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Alaric says following Rafael down the dungeon.

Rafael stops in his place and Alaric walks forward a bit to see Landon's unconscious body sitting against the brick wall.

"I killed him, Dr. Saltzman. Josie made me do it." Rafael confesses. 

Alaric looked at Rafael trying to collect his words.

"We're gonna figure all that out, okay? Just- It's okay." Alaric looks at Landon, "Look, he's gonna come back. He'll come back."

"Not this time." Rafael says holding the golden knife.

* * *

Josie was standing in a room of the large tomb that she created into a lair for her and her decipherable. Josie had a new feeling that she couldn't describe, that's why she was in complete silence, she needed to figure out what it was that was plaguing her. As Josie was in deep thought, Jasmine walked in.

"I heard from Raf a little bit ago. He said the school is planning a memorial for Lizzie, who is dead. Which we already knew." Jasmine smirked proudly.

"No." Josie began to pace, "There's something new in my mind that I can't quite reach. I know Lizzie is gone because I don't feel her larger-than-life presence but I don't know what this is. I need to find this out."

Josie found herself behind a confused Jasmine. Even though Jasmine was controlled by Josie she was still able to feel her normal range of emotion, at least for right now. Jasmine turned around to face Josie.

"What do you want me to do?" Jasmine questioned.

She wanted to help.

"My father must be behind this. Have a chat with him." Josie commanded.

Jasmine nodded as Josie began walking away from her.

"I'll search my mind..." Josie sat cross-legged, "for the thing that's out of place."

Jasmine smiled, "As you wish."

* * *

"Josie? Josie?" Hope runs up to Josie's unconscious body, "Josie, wake up." Hope lightly pushes her body.

"You should try kissing her, maybe." Pig suggested.

"I know this is a fairy tale and all, but a non-consensual kiss is never the answer."

"Well, excuse me, little Miss Big Words. You got a better idea?"

"I do."

 _"Surgere!_ "

Hope says the spell flicking her wrist.

"Hey!" Pig squeals, "We said no magic."

"I know your scared of the darkness, but this is Josie's subconscious. Nothing can really hurt us here."

Before Pig can say anything he grabbed Hope and rushed the both of them behind a brick wall.

"What the hell is that?" Hope whispers to Pig.

"That is the darkness, sweetheart. And it can definitely hurt us." Pig says.

"Little pig, little pig, who's your new friend? I can smell that magic's being used here again." the darkness says.

Hope grabs a pebble,

" _Saithus._ "

she says making the pebble causes a distraction.

"Happy now, you dumb broad? You nearly got us both eaten- which is a lifelong fear of mine, I'll have you know. And now the darkness knows your magic-using ass is here." Pig complained.

"Yeah? Well, my magic just saved or asses." Hope glared.

"After I pulled you to safety."

"Oh, yeah. Thank you so much for pulling me behind a single piece of rubble."

"What do you want from me? I got hooves for hands."

"I want you to stop talking down to me and be grateful that I just saved our bacon."

"Oh! How dare you?!" Pig turns around with his back facing Hope.

"I'm sorry. It's just a figure of speech, all right?" Hope sighs, "Look, truce, okay? We both miss Josie. We can work together to wake her up."

Pig turns around to face Hope, "If we do that, the darkness will only grow again. Princess Josie did what she did for a reason."

"She made her sacrifice because she didn't know that help was coming. So, if we can't wake him up, then we're just gonna have to defeat the darkness ourselves."

* * *

On the stairs, Hope and two female students put flowers on the rail of the auditorium to prepare for the funeral.

"What's Landon up to?" one of the girls asked.

"I don't know. Probably off somewhere being a total beta." Hope-Lusion realizes what she says and corrects herself, "Which I'm super into."

"Mmm. You bringing anyone to the funeral?" the other girl inquired.

"You guys are bringing dates to the funeral? Aren't you in like, mourning or whatever?" Hope-Lusion raised an eyebrow.

"Over Lizzie?" a girl asked.

"I thought she was pretty popular." Hope-Lusion shrugs.

"Because we were all scared of crossing her. It's kind of a relief to not have to worry about what crazy thing she's going to do next."

"It's better off without her it's and it's only been a day." a girl says.

the girls chuckle.

"We need more ribbon." Hope-Lusion stated.

* * *

Kaleb is recording a video for Lizzie's funeral while Jed stands behind the camera.

"Memory of Lizzie. Oh, uh one time she told me to go get condoms out of the nurses' office, I know why she did it but it was... it was really weird." Xavier fumbled his words

"Yeah, no, uh... Something less inappropriate." Jed prompted.

"Oh. Um... okay. Once, she walked by me and just said, 'Hard pass' for no reason." Xavier shared.

"Um, okay, cut. Um, uh..." Kaleb stuttered.

"That felt pretty good to me. Ya'll need anything else or...?" Xavier raises an eyebrow.

"I think..." Jed looks to Kaleb for an answer.

"We'll call you." Kaleb nodded.

"Okay." Xavier says getting up to leave.

"Alright." Kaleb sighed.

"Yeah, we're gonna need to dump that last one. It's a memorial, not a roast." Jed instructed.

"Yeah, it's pointless, man. We'll never get them to say anything nice about Lizzie. The girl has burned everyone in this school at least once."

"Well, it doesn't mean we give up on her."

Kaleb nods.

* * *

MG paces around the kitchen thinking about the situation they were in and how they got there. MG wished it never got to the point they were currently at and it hurt to know his closest friend had become his enemy and now they were hiding out from her. Soon enough, Lizzie enters the kitchen looking like herself.

"Oh my, God. You're alive.." MG pretended.

"Drop it. Okay? The coast is clear." Lizzie commanded.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I couldn't pretend for one more second. Nobody is upset about me being dead. They all hate."

"They don't hate you, Lizzie's good friend Hope."

Lizzie puts the ring on to be Hope again.

"I think they only just got to know one side of her. That's what my eulogy's about." MG smiles.

"Great idea. The perfect eulogy would force everyone to remember what an amazing person that... she was. And I soul be the one to do it. After all, I knew her the best." Hope-Lusion nods.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

"It's what Lizzie would've wanted."

"Okay."

* * *

In the basement lies Alaric and Rafael with Landon's dead body.

"This is all wrong. He always comes back by now. It never takes this long." Rafael fretted.

"Alright, let's not panic, okay? If Josie has anything to do with this then she wouldn't really kill him." Alaric reasoned.

"Do you hear yourself right now? Did you forget she killed Alyssa and tried to kill her sister? Do you think anyone is off-limits, especially with Landon moving on so quickly?"

"We're gonna figure this out."

"There's no figuring it out. She killed Landon. Who's to say she won't make me kill you."

"So you have to put me down then take her down after. It's the only way."

"That is not an option."

"Look, look. I can't control this hold that Josie has me under. Now if you don't do this now... then it might be too late."

"Alright, listen, uh... We're gonna get a sleeping spell. Alright? And we're gonna put you in a state of suspended animation until we figure this all out. I am not losing another student."

"Then why did you bring that down with you when you got your book?" Rafael says about Alaric's sword.

"That is just a precaution. I am trying to keep everyone safe."

"So am I!" Rafael grabs Alaric by the collar and throws him to the wall. He grabs Alaric's sword nearby and throws it beside Alaric ordering him, "Pick up your sword."

Alaric stands up, "No."

Rafael punches Alaric in the stomach, "Do it! Pick it up!"

"Raf..." Alaric

"Do it or I will kill you."

"I don't believe you."

"Pick it up. You need to stop me."

"You killing Landon is not your fault, okay? I'm gonna find a way to save you both. Alright? You're not responsible for killing Landon."

Rafael starts tearing up but before a single tear could escape his eyes Josie posses him, "Well, he did try to warn you, Dad."

Alaric looks at Rafael confused and before he could anything he gets knocked out.

* * *

At Lizzie's funeral.

"Where's my dad?" Hope-Lusion asks.

"He'll be here any moment." MG says walking up to the podium.

The video that Kaleb took starts rolling on the projector.

"Technical difficulties, folks. We're just gonna move on with the next part of the service." MG goes to sit back in his seat while Jed and Kaleb walk over to the podium.

"Thank you. Uh... This one's for Lizzie Saltzman." Kaleb begins.

Kaleb starts singing and is cut off by Jed. The boys go back and forth until moments later Hope-Lusion cuts them off taking the podium over.

"Okay. Thank you so much for whatever that was. I'm here today to deliver the eulogy for Elizabeth Caroline Saltzman. Lizzie was more than one thing. She was a witch, a daredevil, a lover." Hope-Lusion says.

The students start laughing.

"Was she a saint? Eh, who's to say? But I can say this. She was the absolute best of us. She was a kind soul."

The students start laughing again.

"She was kind and nice. And sometimes she was just tired or having a bad day, or whatever. You all think you knew her, but you didn't. You're all wrong!" Hope-Lusion shouts storming off.

* * *

Back at the house in Josie's head,

"That's strange. He's always home." Pig says opening the door, "Hello? Mr. Huntsman? I brought a nosy friend." Pig sniffs the air, "Oh, stews on. He must be nearby."

Hope picks up the nearby ax, "Ah, nice."

"Sweetie, if you don't out-think that's enough to stop the darkness, you are crazy."

"Probably, but I'm not going down without a fight." Hope grabs a knife, "What do you say? Are you in?"

"I would be no use in battle. I-I know, I bluster a lot. But, uh, I just get so scared, and then I say dumb stuff when I'm scared."

"Yeah, I know."

"I could finish the stew, though. Maybe find some bread." Pig walks over to the pot of stew, "Uh, make you a nice meal before you go off to die."

"That'll do, Pig."

"Don't press your luck, kiddo."

Hope chuckles.

"Ah..." Pig opens the lid to the pot and when he looks he sees the Huntsman's head, "It's a trap!"

As if on cue the Wolf kick opens the door but Hope closes it again with the flick of her wrist.

"Little witch, little witch, let... me... in!" Wolf shouts.

* * *

Alaric woke up from his head injury, confused. Everything was a bit fuzzy but before things could even begin to clear up a drink was slid to him. Alaric looked to the catalyst of the sliding to see Jasmine sitting next to him in an empty bar.

"How was your nap?" Jasmine chuckled.

"Jasmine- what is going on?" Alaric inquired.

Alaric tried to stand up but he felt a hand come down onto his shoulder and almost force him back to his seat.

"I wouldn't do that. If you try to do anything me and him have strict orders to kill you." Jasmine said casually.

Alaric looked at Jasmine and lowered himself back onto his seat, trying to calm down. But, there was no way to calm down from a situation like this, he was being held hostage by his students and possibly his daughter. He had to act calm if he wanted to survive, though.

"What do you want?" Alaric asked shakily.

"Is Lizzie Saltzman alive?" Jasmine queried.

"No, my daughter's dead."

"Answer the question honestly. Or I will kill you."

Alaric was out-numbered and he knew it. So, what could he say except...

"Yes."

Jasmine nodded before taking out a notepad and a pen and began to write. After some jotting, Jasmine slid the note-pad to Alaric.

'I barely have enough free will to write this but whatever plan you have please, please help us. We're being controlled by Josie and we need to be let free. Please stop her.'

The note read.

"You got it?" Jasmine raised an eyebrow.

Alaric nodded at Jasmine.

"Good." Jasmine stated.

Jasmine snapped her fingers and Alaric fell asleep at the bar.

* * *

The wolf breaks down the door. He walks towards Hope grabbing her by the collar and throwing her to the wall. He then makes his way over to Pig and eats him.

"No!" Hope quickly gets up and stabs him in the back with the ax making Wolf fall to the ground.

"Pig!" Hope shouts and stabs Wolf in the chest cutting him open with the ax.

As Hope cuts open Wolf a hand sticks out and outcomes Josie.

"What's going on? Where's Pig?" Hope looks around extremely confused.

"Oh, uh... I-I was the pig. I thought if I disguised myself the darkness would leave me alone." Josie says.

"You were the pig? You do realize he said some really patronizing and-and sexist things to me."

"No, I know. I just didn't want you to suspect it was me, because I need you to leave. Okay? I don't want you to get hurt."

"Josie, I'm not going to leave you behind."

"No, you don't understand. I can't have somebody else get hurt because of me."

"No one will."

A loud whoosh overcomes the girls.

"I love that you thought it would be that simple." Dark Josie smirks.

"Oh, my God, run!" Josie shouts.

* * *

"Okay, time for some real talk." Lizzie says hiding at the top of the stairs.

"I have something to say. On my first day here, Lizzie was my tour guide. Just like was for most of you. I was so scared. And she knew it, too. At the end of my tour, I mentioned... hating my name, Milton. And she said, "So change it. No one here knows. How bout MG?" Remember that shock bracelet Lizzie had? Or when she was suddenly into talent shows and-and Miss Mystic Falls and football? She was always trying to start over. And yeah, she could be extra, but she knew it." MG starts.

The students laugh.

"And she never stopped trying to change. But did you all let her? Or did you hold onto one image of her at her worst? She was an easy target who couldn't control her brain chemistry. So it was easier to think that she was broken than to root for her and accept that she was changing. If you really stop and think, I'm sure you have a good Lizzie story, too. Here's your chance. Start over." MG finishes. 

"I liked to sew a lot. But there was no one else to do it with. When Lizzie found out, she started the sewing club." says a girl.

* * *

"We have to keep moving." Hope demands.

"It doesn't matter, we're never gonna get away from her." Josie doubts.

"Jo, while you've been trapped in here, she's been rampaging in the real world. Okay, she even tried to merge with Lizzie."

"Oh, my God, is she okay?"

"For now. But that's why we have to stop her."

"She's more powerful than I am"

"Jo... she is you. Or some part of you. You can control her somehow. I don't know how, but... Landon would have some theory about the psychology, and what part of your personality she represents."

"He would, wouldn't he?"

"Pretty messed-up subconscious you got here, by the way."

"Are we surprised? My mom used to read us fairy tales for bedtime stories. They were so calming. There was good guys and bad guys. Very clear rules that you had to follow. It all made sense. Unlike my life."

"Well, this fairy tale sucks. It's accurate. I'm either the powerful, petty bitch or the good, weak victim."

"That's the story that you're telling yourself. I mean, your subconscious made a fairy tale that the good you is weak and the powerful is evil. Tell yourself a different story." Suddenly Hope found herself pulled away by magic.

With a flick of her wrist, Dark Josie sends Josie backward.

"Boring. Let's fight."

Hope gets up and throws the ax at Dark Josie but she catches it.

"That's strike one." Dark Josie cackled.

_"Icaeus!"_

Hope blasts a beam of magic at Dark Josie.

Dark Josie siphons the magic, "Ah, thanks for the extra magic. That's strike two."

"Josie, you can fight her." Hope encourages her friend.

"Hmm, that's strike three." Dark Josie sends Hope into the nearby brick wall.

"Josie! Change the story." Hope says before Dark Josie turns her into stone.

Josie runs into the Huntsman house, grabbing a knife.

"Boo!" Dark Josie scares Josie making her fall.

"Please." Josie pleads.

"I hate you. You're so weak and vulnerable. The kind of girl who's so quiet that her father and mother forget about her in the chaos of Lizzie. The kind of girl Penelope won't fight for anymore. The kind of girl Landon breaks up within one speech. The kind of girl who's destined to lose the merge." Dark Josie flicks the knife out her hand, "You needed me. Because without me, you would have never survived. This is what being strong looks like."

And Josie almost believed Hope but... with Hope's words ringing in her ears she spoke,

"I was afraid of being strong. I thought being strong meant hurting Lizzie. Or being like Kai. I told myself that being powerful meant being evil. But it doesn't. Hope is strong. And she's good." Josie stands up, "You made a story... I made a story... where I was powerless. But that's not true. Because I can change this story."

"Enough!" Dark Josie yells.

"I'm not afraid of you anymore. Because I'm holding the ax." Josie says.

_"Finidus!"_

Dark Josie chants.

"I just bound you to this cabin."

"You're trapped here forever."

"I'm not trapped. Because we're not in a cabin anymore. And... if you use your magic against me, it hurts you, too. But most importantly... you're not wearing armor anymore." Josie stabs Dark Josie in the chest pulling her down, "It's over."

"It'll never be over. As long as you have black magic in you. I will always find a way back!" Dark Josie shouts.

"We'll see."

* * *

Josie wakes up in the tomb and looks at her hands. She was finally herself, she was finally normal. Of course, Josie wasn't completely herself but she knew fully herself or not, there was only one thing she wanted to do. Josie jumped onto her feet and ran into the woods. As Josie ran she thought about how freeing it felt to finally be in control, to not be a slave to the darkness, Josie loved the feeling of running wild and free as herself and only herself. She ran as fast as she could, she couldn't stop, she was running for freedom, she was running for family. She was finally free. Soon enough, Josie burst through the door to her dad's office.

"Dad?!" Josie beamed.

Alaric looked up. He was overjoyed to see his daughter finally herself again.

"Josie?!" Alaric smiled.

Alaric practically jumped from his desk and ran to embrace his daughter into a big hug. Josie wrapped her arms around her dad lovingly. Lizzie entered the office, hoping to talk to her dad.

"Dad?" Lizzie inquired.

When Lizzie saw Josie's face she could only do one thing. Lizzie teared up and pulled Josie into her arms tightly. Alaric wrapped his arms around the girls and joined the group hug. The family was finally reunited.

* * *

Jasmine and Noah were walking through the garden under the moonlight of Mystic Falls. They were talking about pop culture when Jasmine suddenly stops. It was gone. The presence in her mind was gone. Jasmine finally had full control! Noah looked back at Jasmine.

"Uh... Jas, are you okay?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"She's gone." Jasmine stated bluntly.

"Who-"

"She's gone!" Jasmine cut Noah off.

Jasmine jumped onto Noah and pulled him into a big hug. Noah awkwardly hugged back. He didn't know what was going on.

* * *

Josie sits on her bed while her dad sits on Lizzie's bed.

"Thank you for not giving up on me. Even though I didn't deserve it." Josie half smiled.

"You know, one of the many joys of being your father is getting to see you slowly figure out how much you deserve. And one day, you'll realize that what you deserve is to never be given up on." Alaric states.

"Tell me that when the darkness comes back."

"I can't say that she won't but I can tell you that we'll all be here to help you beat her again. We all believe in you. I can't lose another student."

* * *

At the docks lies MG and Lizzie.

"When you think about it, a eulogy is just a story that we tell ourselves about someone that we've lost. Since my friend MG is immortal, he may never get a eulogy. But I am now convinced that everyone should hear their own eulogy. So here goes. The story of MG."

MG smiles.

"He was the son of a preacher and a shady government operative. H kept what was good from each and let go of the bad. He had his own demons, but even when they chased him into the dark, he never stayed there. Instead, he danced like a sparkler and smiled like the sun. He wrote a new story every day, and remind me to always find the light." Lizzie finishes and walks over sits next to MG, "That's as far as I got. I don't know where the story goes from there."

"Just hasn't been written yet, I guess." MG smirks.

"Thank you for... putting up with me for today. I guess after all the stuff that happened with Josie, I just... really needed to feel... less alone."

"I know."

"I should probably go and explain to everyone why I'm not really dead."

"Lizzie? You're alive?" a girl asks pulling her in for a hug.

* * *

In Rafael and Landon's room lies Landon's body on the bed.

Alaric walks in "He hasn't, uh...?"

"I don't get it. Dark Josie freed me and Jasmine but Landon, he... won't wake up." Rafael shakes his head.

"Yeah, but we had a deal."

"She made good on part of it. I'm not under her control anymore. It doesn't feel like I have that little voice in my head anymore. I'm free. Landon should be back by now."

"Yeah. That's not our only problem."

Now looking at Hope's body.

"I don't understand. What's wrong with her?"

"I'm not sure. But she won't wake up." Alaric frowns.

* * *

**SEPTEMBER**

Lizzie lowered the phone from her ear and pressed the hang-up button. Lizzie let out a sigh of relief and sat down. It was good to know that her sister was finally going to get the help she needed. Speaking of her sister...

"Lizzie, come on. We have to go." Josie appeared in Lizzie's doorway.

Lizzie looked at Josie, "Get ready for what?"

Josie tucked her brown-with-black-streaks-in-the-front hair behind her ear, "The assembly. Did you forget?"

Lizzie groaned, "I was trying to."

Josie let out a small chuckle. It was the first time Josie had laughed in a while.

Later, Lizzie and Josie took their seats alongside MG in the auditorium. The twins were among the last of the students to sit for the assembly which means they were just as late as Lizzie wanted them to be. Everyone looked at Alaric as he stepped up to the podium.

"Good morning and welcome to a new year! I want this year to be a very exciting year for you all. For starters, I wanna say there'll be a lot of changes this year... firstly, the vampires will be getting a new teacher. Please welcome... Mr. Harrington!"

Alaric moved from the podium and everyone began to clap as a tall blonde man walked up to the podium and smiled brightly. This was gonna be an exciting year indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the book! What was your favorite chapter? I liked chapter 11, it was super fun to write. Feel free to comment your favorite chapter in the comments <3


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